Poland PM Tusk claims Russian meddling as president’s crypto law veto survives vote

Polish lawmakers tried but failed to overturn the presidential veto on a government-proposed draft law designed to introduce comprehensive rules for Poland’s cryptocurrency market.

The controversial legislation has become the focal point of a political clash in Warsaw, with Prime Minister Tusk now accusing the head of state, Nawrocki, of acting under Russian influence.

Polish cryptocurrency law remains in limbo

Members of the ruling majority in the Sejm were unsuccessful in another attempt to override the veto imposed by the Polish president on their proposal to regulate the country’s crypto space.

At a session on Friday, 243 of them voted against the veto, falling short of the 263 votes required to defeat it. Another 191 deputies supported Karol Nawrocki’s decision to halt the adoption of the bill.

The latter was put forward by the government with the aim of transposing the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules into national law, but critics say it’s much stricter than the European legislation.

So far, Nawrocki has stopped it twice, citing overregulation and excessive burden on small businesses among his motives, and this is the second push to overcome his opposition.

When he sent it back for amendments in December, the president warned that the Polish Crypto-Asset Market Act “threatens the freedom of Poles, their property and the stability of the state.”

Poland becoming ‘El Dorado for fraudsters’

Representatives of the center-left Tusk cabinet have been attacking Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing opposition, for blocking cryptocurrency regulation in the country.

Poland remains the only EU member state that is yet to comply with the framework adopted by Brussels in 2024, the public broadcaster TVP noted in a report ahead of the weekend. It must do so by July.

The lack of rules creates an “El Dorado for fraudsters,” Finance Minister Andrzej Domański stated Friday, adding the veto leaves both consumers and entrepreneurs without adequate protection.

Tusk sees Russian money behind crypto veto

The political conflict in Warsaw has already gone far beyond a normal debate over the future of cryptocurrencies and regulations in Poland.

In his latest attack, Donald Tusk claimed that a crypto firm allegedly funded with money coming from Russia has been sponsoring events promoting his opponents.

Among them, a meeting of America’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Polish city of Rzeszow in March, last year, which backed Nawrocki’s campaign days before the presidential election.

The Prime Minister was referring to Zondarcrypto, a major exchange in Poland. Speaking ahead of the parliamentary vote, and quoted by the Associated Press, he stated:

“The source of this company’s financial success is not only Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva, one of the most important mafia groups in Russia, but also to Russian secret services.”

Citing information from Poland’s security agency ABW, Tusk accused the trading platform’s CEO, Przemysław Kral, of making large donations to foundations linked to opposition figures.

The premier also insisted that the blocking of his government’s crypto regulations is an indication that some politicians are serving the company’s interests.

The Polish-rooted exchange, which is now registered in Estonia, recently became the main topic of multiple media reports that revealed it is facing liquidity issues affecting withdrawals and sponsorship payments.

While its chief executive rejected these claims, he also admitted this week he does not have the key to a crypto wallet holding over $330 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) since the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor, Sylwester Suszek, in 2022.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński vowed that the current government in Warsaw will continue its efforts to regulate the crypto market.

“The plan is to keep addressing this until we succeed, until the awareness of the threats and these strange interests connecting certain right-wing politicians with this exchange finally reaches the president,” Kierwiński commented, quoted by the Polish national television.

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