Poland’s Sejm passes bill to freeze sanctioned crypto assets

The government-backed Act on Restrictive Measures would let authorities restrict money, property and other assets belonging to people and companies placed on a national sanctions list maintained by the interior minister. The bill still needs Senate consideration and presidential approval before it can become law.

The draft explicitly includes crypto assets in its definition of financial funds, alongside bank deposits, account balances, securities, dividends and credit. It refers to the definition in Article 3 of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). A freeze would prevent transfers, use or transactions that change an asset’s ownership, location, value or availability.

Banks and exchanges holding assets for listed customers would have to comply with restrictions. For self-custodied wallets, enforcement would depend on identifying the assets and limiting dealings with their owners; a listing order would not give authorities the private keys. Service providers could be barred from processing transactions or making assets available to a designated customer.

Under Articles 8 and 9, the interior minister would issue listing decisions and publish them in the ministry’s public information bulletin. They would take effect the day after publication. A listed party could challenge a decision in administrative court, but the restriction would remain in force until a judgment became final. The minister could specify which funds or resources are covered and limit the explanation on national security or public order grounds.

Article 10 allows authorities to authorize access to frozen resources for basic needs such as food, housing, medicine, taxes and utilities, as well as reasonable legal fees and certain maintenance costs. Access would require a separate decision and be subject to its conditions.

Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mroczek said during a Sept. 3 parliamentary debate that Poland’s existing national sanctions system operates under an April 2022 law addressing support for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. He said the list then had 554 entries: 119 businesses and 435 individuals. Of the businesses, 99 were linked to Russian capital and 20 to Belarusian capital. The government says the bill would extend national measures beyond Russia and Belarus and implement EU Directive 2024/1226 on offenses and penalties involving violations of EU sanctions.

The sanctions proposal is separate from legislation to establish domestic crypto supervision. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed that framework on June 11. A September Sejm attempt to override the veto received 241 votes in favor, 198 against and three abstentions, short of the 266 required. The rejected bill would have made the Polish Financial Supervision Authority the country’s crypto regulator.