Polish prosecutors have charged a former police officer in the investigation surrounding the collapsed Zondacrypto exchange, while a separate strand of the case has returned investigators to the fuel depot where founder Sylwester Suszek was last seen before he disappeared in March 2022.
Authorities said the developments came as cybercrime officers detained Artur K. on Tuesday and investigators in Katowice continued work on the site linked to Suszek’s disappearance, which prosecutors are treating as a case of unlawful deprivation of liberty rather than a missing-person inquiry.
Charges against former officer
According to the National Prosecutor's Office department for organized crime, Artur K. was detained on the bureau’s orders by officers from the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime. Prosecutors said he has been charged with membership in an organized criminal group.
He also faces a second count tied to the alleged misappropriation of users’ funds and money laundering. Prosecutors said the allegation includes large-scale property damage affecting entities connected to the exchange.
Search of home and next procedural step
Investigators said a search of Artur K.’s home uncovered documentation related to the exchange’s operations. The materials were seized as part of the inquiry.
At the time described by prosecutors, he was being questioned as a suspect. After that questioning, prosecutors were expected to decide whether to request pre-trial detention.
Investigators return to last known location
At the same time, police in Katowice were searching the fuel depot where Suszek was last seen before he vanished in March 2022. The work is being carried out under a team of prosecutors and includes expert witnesses and advanced forensic equipment.
The renewed activity at the depot links the financial investigation around the exchange with the long-running effort to establish what happened to its founder after his last confirmed sighting.
How prosecutors are framing Suszek’s case
Prosecutors are not treating the matter as a simple disappearance. The case is being handled as unlawful deprivation of liberty, indicating investigators believe Suszek may have been held against his will.
The source article also said an earlier suspect had been accused of removing a hard drive from a CCTV recorder at a filling station. That allegation adds to the focus on possible efforts to interfere with evidence connected to the period around Suszek’s disappearance.
The immediate confirmed next step is procedural: prosecutors must decide whether to seek Artur K.’s pre-trial detention, while the forensic search at the fuel depot continues under prosecutorial supervision.
Source: decrypt.co