Polish Olympic Committee dismisses its president amid corruption allegations

The Polish Olympic Committee dismissed its president after his arrest on suspicion of involvement in a wide-ranging corruption case linked to cryptocurrencies, according to the announcement by the committee’s new acting president. Marjan Kmita said, “The board of directors has made a final decision to appoint me as acting president of the Polish Olympic Committee.” Kmita will lead the committee for the remainder of the term of former president Radosław Pieśkiewicz, which ends in April next year. Pieśkiewicz is suspected of receiving financial compensation in exchange for awarding the Polish Olympic Committee sponsorship contracts and promising influence in favor of the cryptocurrency trading platform ZondaCrypto, which later ceased operations. Authorities launched an investigation in April, prompting most Polish sports federations to call for Pieśkiewicz’s resignation. The government estimates that the shutdown of ZondaCrypto resulted in losses of 80.5 million euros, affecting approximately 30,000 victims. According to the new acting president, the Olympic Committee is facing an “extremely difficult financial situation.” A financial audit report will be made public in the coming weeks.