Polish prosecutors have charged former police officer Artur K. with organized crime, misappropriation of exchange users’ funds, computer fraud and money laundering in the case surrounding defunct cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime detained him Tuesday on orders from the National Prosecutor’s Office’s organized-crime department. Authorities searched his residence and seized documents related to the exchange’s operations. Prosecutors are also examining a fuel depot in Katowice where Zondacrypto founder Sylwester Suszek was last seen before disappearing in March 2022. The case is being treated as unlawful deprivation of liberty, while another suspect has been charged with removing hard drives from gas-station surveillance cameras. Suszek founded the exchange in Katowice in 2014 as BitBay. It moved its registration to Estonia in 2020 under BB Trade Estonia, later adopted the Zondacrypto name and said it had 1.3 million clients, most of them Polish. The platform froze withdrawals and went offline in April, while Estonia’s financial intelligence unit revoked its operator’s license on June 29. At least five other people have been charged since August, including Radosław P., former head of the Polish Olympic Committee. Several thousand complaints have been filed by exchange clients. Those who have responded publicly have denied the allegations, and none of the charges has been tested in court.