Polish
currency exchange platform Cinkciarz.pl has announced plans to sue two more
major banks operating in the country. This time, the fintech is seeking at
least 1.5 billion zlotys ($375 million) from Citibank and PKO BP.

Cinkciarz.pl and Conotoxia
Plan to Sue a Total of 10 Polish Banks

According
to the
latest statement from Cinkciarz.pl sp. z o.o. and Conotoxia sp. z o.o.
published today (Tuesday), the online currency exchange and payment institution
intend to take legal action against PKO BP, demanding at least 1 billion zlotys
($250 million).

“The
grounds for the lawsuit are the bank’s collusion and refusal to provide the
companies with financing in the form of investment and working capital
loans,” the companies wrote in the statement.

Last week,
a similar note was issued regarding Citibank, seeking damages of 500 million
zlotys ($125 million).

It all
started when the Polish regulator, KNF, announced at the beginning of this
month that it was revoking
Conotoxia sp. z o.o.’s license to provide payment services, which will cut
off the exchange office from further operations.

This
increases the number of banks that Cinkciarz.pl and Conotoxia want to sue to a
total of 10, with potential damages amounting to 6.5 billion zlotys ($1.65
billion).
The growing list since the beginning of this month includes mBank, BPS
(twice), BOŚ Bank, Credit Agricole, ING Bank Śląski, Bank Millennium, and Getin
Bank.

According
to Cinkciarz.pl, these banks have allegedly engaged in anti-competitive
practices and violated the principle of equal treatment of companies by banks.

“PKO
BP S.A., like many other banks, has imposed a total ban on cooperation with
entities from the Conotoxia group, which is detrimental not only to the
companies’ interests but also to the welfare of customers,” they commented
on the matter.

Conotoxia Alleges Polish
KNF “Violates the Law”

The news of
Conotoxia’s license revocation has put the payment company into a veritable
berserker mode. An all-out war with almost all major Polish banks is not all,
as Finance Magnates reported yesterday (Monday) that the Polish fintech
also has complaints against the regulator.

In its
statement, the company openly admits that
KNF “violates the law,” and that the introduced regulations,
instead of helping, “destroy” companies. The actions taken by the
regulator may allegedly disrupt services for 100,000 users and cause billions
in damages.

Conotoxia
wants to fight against the “current banking lobby,” which it believes
protects its own interests, placing them above the welfare of users and the
competitive chances of fintech companies.

“The
KNF violated the provision of Article 105(1)(6) of the Payment Services Act.
Given a choice of six supervisory measures against a Company with no previous
administrative penalties, it decided to wind it up straight away, a phenomenon
in supervision that should help entities solve their problems, not destroy
them,” the company commented in another of the series of statements made
in recent days.

Conotoxia Sp. z o.o. is
Not the Same Company as Conotoxia Ltd

It’s worth
emphasizing that Conotoxia Sp. z o.o., the Polish payment company whose license
was revoked by KNF, is a different entity from Conotoxia Ltd, a CySEC-regulated
retail FX/CFD broker. Although the activities of both are completely
independent, it’s easy to confuse them.

Finance
Magnates learned
that due to the similarity in names, the Cypriot regulator has also reportedly
taken interest in the situation. Grzegorz Jaworski, CEO of Conotoxia Ltd, a
broker licensed by CySEC, addressed the matter in a letter sent last week to
“clients, contractors, business partners, and media,” emphasizing
that the recent actions by the KNF did not involve the company he represents.

“Our
company Conotoxia Ltd is a separate entity that holds a license to conduct
brokerage activities in Poland, among other places,” Jaworski stated.
“Our company does not and has never provided any payment services to
clients and has nothing to do with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority’s
decision regarding Conotoxia sp. z o.o.”

He added
that the KNF’s decision has not affected the operations of the broker Conotoxia
Ltd in any way.