Two women, identified only as Anna P. and Jaromira W. in line with Polish privacy rules, and a man, Rafał Z., were named as the suspects.
Anna P. faces three charges, including membership of an organised crime group allegedly formed to seize the assets of Sylwester Suszek, founder of Zondacrypto's predecessor, BitBay.
She is also accused of causing financial harm to the exchange's Estonia-based operator, BB Trade, and of obstructing the investigation into Suszek's disappearance.
Prosecutors said the charges include accepting a property in Katowice worth PLN 700,000 (USD 188,000), pressuring potential witnesses to give false testimony, and removing CCTV recordings from the place where the missing man was last seen.
Jaromira W. also faces a charge of organised crime group membership.
She is accused of taking control of around PLN 8 million (USD 2.15 million) to the detriment of Zondacrypto's operator and of money laundering.
Rafał Z. faces a charge of misappropriating PLN 1.7 million (USD 460,000) entrusted to him by the exchange's operator.
All three deny wrongdoing, though they gave statements to investigators.
Spokeswoman Anna Adamiak said on Thursday that prosecutors believed there was a risk of evidence tampering, given inconsistencies between the evidence gathered and the suspects' accounts.
The charges carry sentences of up to eight to ten years, she said.
Żurek commented on the case on social media, saying that beyond any misappropriated funds, no one would escape accountability for attempting to obscure the truth about crimes committed.
The Zondacrypto investigation was opened in April over allegations of large-scale fraud and money laundering, and has drawn several thousand complaints.
It was merged in late July with a separate inquiry into Suszek's disappearance.
The man, founder of Zondacrypto's predecessor exchange BitBay, vanished in March 2022 and was last seen at a fuel depot belonging to Marian W., known as "Maniek."
Anna P. is a close associate of Marian W., while Jaromira W. is his former wife.
Suszek disappeared with the keys to a digital wallet holding 4,500 bitcoin, worth over USD 300 million.
Last week, the same investigation led to the detention of Polish Olympic Committee president Radosław Piesiewicz, who was charged with influence peddling and favouring a group of creditors amid Zondacrypto's looming insolvency.
He denies wrongdoing and is currently held in pre-trial detention for three months.
(ał)
Source: PAP