Polish PM says crypto firm tied to Russian mafia and secret service backed political rivals

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a crypto firm with ties to the Russian mafia and secret service sponsored political rivals, according to the Associated Press.

Tusk's comments came as he spoke during a parliamentary vote on Friday to overrule President Karol Nawrocki's veto of legislation designed to regulate Poland's cryptocurrency market.

The prime minister said some Polish politicians have blocked crypto regulation in the service Zondacrypto, a crypto firm that gave "financial support" to politicians and has ties to Russia, according to the AP.

Tusk also said Zondacrypto sponsored a Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, event in Poland last year, where former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem voiced support for Nawrocki's presidential bid, the AP reported.

"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," said Tusk.

Conservative candidate Nawrocki won the presidential campaign last June. He was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Nawrocki's office told the AP he "was not opposed to the need to regulate the crypto-assets market but just to the 'flawed regulatory model' proposed by the government," the report said.

In December, Polish lawmakers failed to overturn President Nawrocki's veto on a sweeping crypto bill, which dealt a blow to Tusk's efforts to bring the country into alignment with the European Union's MiCA crypto regulation.