Zondacrypto creditors seek to recover money lost to the failed crypto exchange

Creditors of Zondacrypto have met in Estonia as part of a legal bid to recover what’s left of the assets of Poland’s largest coin trading platform, which collapsed earlier this year.

Bankruptcy proceedings will take place in the Baltic state, where its operator was based, and the first petition was filed, although the company had little money, massive debt, and almost no business there.

Customers launch fight for Zondacrypto’s cash and property

Clients and other creditors of Zondacrypto are starting a difficult struggle to obtain and distribute the remaining assets of the failed digital currency exchange.

Their first meeting took place this Thursday in Tallinn – the capital of Estonia, where its operating entity was incorporated – amid uncertainty over how much and how it can be recovered.

Only a few persons were physically present in the courtroom, according to a report by the Polsat News channel, quoted by other outlets in Poland, such as the web portal Interia.

Among the participants was the bankruptcy trustee of BB Trade Estonia OÜ and lawyers representing those who suffered losses resulting from the exchange’s crash. Others attended remotely.

Margus Lentsius, the official tasked with administering the troubled company, described the meeting as a significant step forward in the bankruptcy proceedings.

He also told Polish media that the affected parties confirmed his appointment and elected a creditors’ committee, which will collaborate with Estonian authorities.

Communication between Estonia and Poland is crucial in order to ensure they will be able to recover as much of their lost funds as possible, Lentsius emphasized and remarked:

“So far, just under 2,000 creditors have filed claims, although that number will certainly rise.”

What happened with Poland’s biggest crypto exchange?

Zondacrypto collapsed in the spring of this year, amid liquidity issues that prevented its customers from withdrawing their funds and even accessing their accounts.

The exchange was founded in the Polish city of Katowice in 2014, initially as BitBay, but later relocated to Malta before eventually setting up its headquarters in Estonia.

Despite moving its main office out of Poland, after appearing on a warning list issued by its financial watchdog in 2018, it remained mostly focused on the Polish market.

It became a leading trading venue for digital assets in the country, which has arguably the largest cryptocurrency sector in Central and Eastern Europe.

Early official estimates suggested that its collapse may have affected more than 30,000 Poles who have lost at least $95 million. A number of arrests were made in the past weeks.

Zondacrypto’s latest CEO, Przemysław Kral, who went missing in April after denying the exchange was facing insolvency, has since reportedly agreed to help authorities unravel the case.

The top executive accuses BitBay’s founder, Sylwester Suszek, of never handing over the keys to a wallet with 4,500 BTC. Suszek himself disappeared after Kral took over in 2021.

Where is Zondacrypto’s money now?

As Zondacrypto had virtually no clients in Estonia, its operator there now has very little funds that can be used to compensate victims. In fact, BB Trade is heavily indebted.

Media reports unveiled earlier in September that its debt stands at €432 million while the company’s assets have been valued at around €167,000, as highlighted by Bitcoin.pl this week.

Poland’s Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek announced in late August that law enforcement had secured over 100 million Polish złoty ($26 million) to satisfy future claims.

In July, French prosecutors seized €4 million ($4.5 million) under a court order and, according to sources in Tallinn, the seizure of assets also covers real estate in France as well as Switzerland.

While there’s almost nothing to confiscate in Estonia, the proceedings will continue in the Baltic nation as EU rules require them to be conducted in the member state where they started.

The bankruptcy case against BB Trade was initiated when a creditor from Austria filed the first petition in the country where it is registered.

In May, Estonian financial authorities suspended the crypto firm’s license, which allowed it to run Zondacrypto, as previously reported by Cryptopolitan.

The deadline for submitting claims is October 27. Only creditors who filed one with the bankruptcy trustee will be eligible to receive a portion of the recovered assets.

Damian Przybyłowski, a lawyer representing nearly 500 of Zondacrypto’s clients, told media that the average size of the already official claims is around 250,000 złoty, or more than $65,000.

According to an estimate produced by the financial news portal Money.pl, the total value of all claims may exceed €700 million (over $800 million), much more than the judiciary’s current calculations.

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