Polish prosecutors said today (Thursday) that Marcin Pióro, the fugitive chief executive of online currency exchange Cinkciarz.pl, has been detained in the United States, ending one of the longest international manhunts in the country's fintech history.
The Regional Prosecutor's Office in Poznań confirmed the arrest in a statement, saying the office is now waiting on a US court to determine how extradition proceedings will move forward.
Office spokesperson Anna Marszałek told Polish news agency PAP that, given the time difference between the two countries, there was no information yet on when the American court would rule. She added that the court must first decide what form the extradition will take.
The arrest was carried out by US authorities working with Polish counterparts from the Central Bureau of Investigation and officers attached to the Criminal Bureau at National Police Headquarters. The exact location of the arrest in the United States has not been disclosed by either side.
Customer Losses Climb to More than 185 Million Zloty
Prosecutors said the estimated total damage caused by the failed platform has grown to more than 185 million zloty, roughly $50 million at current exchange rates, with over 5,000 customers identified as victims. The number of formal complaints filed with the prosecutor's office is higher still, and authorities expect the case file to keep expanding.
- Poland’s Embattled Cinkciarz.pl Declared Bankrupt, Creditors Urged to File Claims
- Interpol Issues Red Notice for Cinkciarz.pl CEO Over Alleged $30 Million Fraud
- Cinkciarz.pl CEO Fraud Charges Expand to 150 Million as Court Rejects Appeals, Upholds Account Freezes
That figure is well above the 112 million zloty estimate disclosed when the international warrant was first issued last summer, and roughly 60% higher than the 125 million zloty figure cited when Interpol formalized the search in mid-2025.
The probe traces back to October 2024, when the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, KNF, revoked the payment services license of Conotoxia, the Cinkciarz.pl subsidiary that processed the bulk of the brand's currency exchange flow. Within days the Poznań prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation.
From Interpol Red Notice to American Custody
Formal charges, including fraud and money laundering, were filed in March 2025 against Pióro and several other executives, but the CEO had already left Poland and could not be served. A Polish court approved his detention in absentia, paving the way for an international arrest warrant.
The hunt escalated in July 2025, when Interpol issued a Red Notice placing Pióro among the policing body's most wanted suspects. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted on the Polish charges.
Several other figures connected to the company are already in Polish custody or under investigation. Former board member Robert Górny was detained for three months in early 2025, and chief accountant Monika J. was arrested in mid-2025 on charges connected to the alleged misuse of customer funds.
Other former managers of Cinkciarz.pl and Conotoxia, along with staff responsible for currency liquidity on settlement accounts, have been charged with offenses ranging from participation in an organized criminal group to money laundering.
From Polish Fintech Darling to Bankruptcy Court
Founded in 2006 in the southwestern Polish city of Zielona Góra, Cinkciarz.pl rode the country's foreign currency boom to become one of Central Europe's best-known online exchanges, processing billions of zlotys in annual transaction volume. Sports sponsorships and corporate campaigns lifted the brand's profile across Poland.
That picture unraveled through 2024 and 2025. Customers began reporting that funds deposited for currency conversion were not being returned, with delays stretching from days into months.
Many of those affected had been routing life savings, mortgage payments and small business operating funds through the platform.
The District Court in Zielona Góra eventually declared the company bankrupt, with proceedings now open for thousands of creditors to file claims. Around 8,000 creditors have registered with the bankruptcy trustee, according to Polish media reports.
Crypto Holdings and a Combative Defense
The case also drew attention to Pióro's personal cryptocurrency holdings. Polish investigators previously alleged the executive held roughly 492 bitcoins, worth about 196 million zloty on personal storage devices. The company said the coins had been acquired by Pióro as a private individual starting in 2015.
Throughout the probe, the executive maintained his innocence and used social media to push back, accusing Polish prosecutors of misconduct.
The company itself pursued lawsuits against multiple Polish banks for alleged collusion, challenged the KNF's license revocation in court, and at one point publicly announced plans to transform into a joint-stock company and pursue a banking license, a move the regulator rejected outright.
Cinkciarz.pl lost its formal court dispute with the KNF shortly before the bankruptcy ruling.
How quickly Pióro is returned to Poland will depend on whether his legal team contests the extradition request. Polish authorities have flagged that such cases routinely run for months, and in some instances more than a year.
