Arrest of Polish Olympic Committee chief could bar country's athletes from Olympics
Poland's athletes could be barred from the Olympics if the International Olympic Committee suspends the Polish Olympic Committee following the arrest of its president. The arrest is linked to a cryptocurrency fraud scandal involving sponsor Zondacrypto.
Polish news portal onet.pl has obtained an internal letter sent to members of the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl) outlining three possible scenarios following the arrest of committee president Radosław Piesiewicz. The letter, written by PKOl vice-president Tomasz Hamerski, references crisis-response options reportedly suggested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Three possible scenarios
The most favorable outcome would be Piesiewicz voluntarily resigning, which Hamerski said would ease the IOC's concerns. However, this is considered unlikely since Piesiewicz denies the accusations and claims to be the victim of a political campaign.
A second option involves the PKOl's governing board deciding to suspend or dismiss Piesiewicz, which the committee's statutes allow when an official has damaged the organization's reputation or can no longer fulfill their duties. The third and, according to Hamerski, riskiest scenario would involve direct IOC intervention — suspending the committee's membership, which could prevent Polish athletes from competing at the Olympics.
Link to the Zondacrypto scandal
The investigation into Piesiewicz began in April after he signed a sponsorship deal, on the committee's behalf, with cryptocurrency company Zondacrypto, under which Polish medalists at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina were to receive prize money in cryptocurrency. The Polish government believes the company operated as a Ponzi scheme, causing roughly 80 million euros in losses to about 30,000 people. Piesiewicz is also accused of receiving an expensive watch from the company's head, who left Poland after the investigation began.
Other senior officials have been implicated in the scandal as well, including a former justice minister who fled to the United States. Poland's prime minister has said the case may involve money linked to Russian organized crime.
