Freezing business accounts is a de facto death sentence for any business activity. It hinders access to funds, suspends the implementation of obligations and ruins the image in the eyes of customers – wrote the management board of Cinkciarz.pl in a statement. He announced that he would file a complaint against the prosecutor's decision to block the accounts.
The prosecutor blocked 328 bank accounts operated by various banks in favor of the Cinkciarz.pl company, said Anna Marszałek, spokeswoman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Poznań, on Monday. She recalled that the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Poznań is conducting an investigation into, among others, causing customers of Cinkciarz.pl to unfavorably dispose of their property by misleading them as to the actual purpose of the money paid by the injured parties as part of the online currency exchange service provided by the company.
The Marshal pointed out that “at the current stage of the proceedings, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Poznań has received over 800 notifications from injured parties who transferred funds to the accounts of Cinkciarz.pl for the purpose of currency conversion, and for whom this service was not provided.”
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“In an unprecedented act of abuse of power, the prosecutor's office blocked the accounts of Cinkciarz.pl, a Polish financial company with a long history and the trust of hundreds of thousands of customers. According to the company's authorities, this decision was made completely illegally and constitutes an open attack on a legally operating company that has been supporting the Polish economy for 14 years. economy. This is an obvious act to the detriment of over 200 employees of Cinkciarz.pl, the group's owners and almost one million customers,” the management board wrote in a statement. Cinkciarz.pl.
“On December 16 this year, the president of the management board of Cinkciarz.pl delivered a detailed letter to the prosecutor's office revealing a number of irregularities and the suspicion of theft of property of significant value by Central Bureau of Investigation employees. Instead of initiating thorough investigation proceedings, the prosecutor's office reacted to this information with a brutal attack and blocked the company's accounts, apparently wanting to intimidate company and put pressure on it,” it said.
According to the company's management board, “everything indicates that we are witnessing a gross demonstration of force: the prosecutor decides to show that he can turn us into a 'victim' with a single signature. “It is worth remembering that the prosecutor, as a public official, is bound by the law and that abuses of power may lead to criminal and financial liability. In our opinion, this is a clear abuse of powers,” the statement said.
“Death sentence for every business activity”
The management board of Cinkciarz.pl emphasizes that “freezing company accounts is a de facto death sentence for any business activity – it hinders access to funds, suspends the fulfillment of obligations and ruins the image in the eyes of customers.”
“This is a classic method: an official can suppress a company with one signature and then use vague 'suspicions' as excuses for years. We do not agree to such barbaric practices, especially since they are the result of political and official collusion against a Polish innovative company,” it was written.
The management board of Cinkciarz.pl announced that as soon as it receives the decision regarding the blocking of accounts, it will file a complaint against it.
“We will also file motions to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the prosecutor in charge of the case, along with lawsuits for abuse of powers. In addition, the company will demand compensation for any losses caused by the illegal blocking of accounts in Poland and abroad,” it said.
Customer problems, settlement proposals
At the beginning of October, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority announced that it was taking action following customer complaints regarding the provision of currency exchange services by the Cinkciarz.pl currency exchange office. Too UOKiK said it had received customer complaints about the company. Customers of the currency exchange office reported delays in currency exchange and money transfers. They were informed by Cinkciarz.pl about the defect, which should be repaired by the end of October.
“On Friday, December 27, 2024, due to technical reasons, the execution of currency exchange transactions may take longer than usual. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask for your patience. Multi-currency cards, money transfers and payments are currently not available. We are working to restore full functionality” – this message was published also on Friday.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority withdrew the authorization to provide payment services to Conotoxia, operating through the agents Cinkciarz.pl and Cinkciarz.pl Marketing. It was then explained that the consequences of the decision would include, among others: deletion of the company and its agents from the register of payment service providers. In practice, Cinkciarz.pl is no longer able to offer services involving the transfer of funds, e.g. to the account of its foreign contractor or a mortgage repayment account at a bank. Cinkciarz.pl informed that it was taking legal steps to repeal the Commission's decision as soon as possible.
In October, Cinkciarz.pl and Conotoxia sp. z o. o. and Conotoxia Ltd. announced lawsuits against the following banks: BPS, BOŚ, Credit Agricole, ING, Millenium, Getin Bank, mBank, Citibank and SGB. The currency exchange office argued that these banks denied him access to their currency platforms, which made it impossible to conclude currency exchange transactions with them, and accused them of “bank collusion”.
In November, the online currency exchange office announced in a press release that it would transform into a joint-stock company and apply for a banking license in the EU, which – as it indicated – would enable it to introduce a full range of banking services. The company also assured that after obtaining a banking license, all of its clients' funds will be protected by the Bank Guarantee Fund, “which will guarantee the highest level of security.”
In response to this announcement, the KNF announced that “Cinkciarz.pl or its related entities” did not apply to the Commission for permission to establish a domestic bank, so the KNF does not conduct any proceedings as a result of which such a permission could be issued. In turn, BFG informed that Cinkciarz.pl is not a domestic bank and customer funds entrusted to the company are not covered by the Fund's guarantees. He also noted that deposits collected in banks based in EU countries other than Poland are guaranteed by the deposit guarantee schemes native to these countries.
At the end of November, Cinkciarz.pl offered its clients a settlement guaranteeing the return of 100 percent of the entrusted funds within the agreed period plus statutory interest. It was added that this is an offer for people “looking for additional security”.
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