Just
days after the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) suspended the
payment license of the local currency exchange giant Cinkciarz.pl, the company
has decided to bring out the big guns. Today (Monday), the company announced
its intention to file a lawsuit against the Polish Bank BPS for 500 million PLN
($125 million) and mBank S.A. for PLN 1 billion ($250 million), citing alleged
banking collusion aimed at obstructing its business operations

Cinkciarz.pl to File Two Lawsuits
Tottalling PLN 1.5 Billion

The
Warsaw-based fintech firm claims that Bank BPS has been systematically
preventing it from executing reverse transfers for customers since September
26, under the pretext of IT problems. Cinkciarz.pl contends that these actions
constitute a deliberate and ongoing effort to hinder its market access,
affecting both the company and its customers.

“All key
evidence of such action, including screenshots from the banking systems, has
already been secured. Bank BPS’s actions have seriously compromised the good
name of Cinkciarz.pl,” the company commented in the official statement.

In response
to these allegations, Cinkciarz.pl is calling for intervention from Poland’s
financial regulators. The company has indicated its intention to involve both
the KNF and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) in the
matter.

In a
separate but related development, Conotoxia sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of
Cinkciarz.pl, announced plans to sue mBank S.A. for at least PLN 1 billion. The
company alleges that mBank has unlawfully obstructed its market access,
including recently refusing to provide a bank guarantee despite Conotoxia
having full coverage for it in its own funds.

Conotoxia
claims that mBank S.A., aware that obtaining a guarantee was one of the
post-inspection recommendations of the KNF, refused to provide it, citing
alleged competitiveness of Conotoxia sp. z o.o. as a domestic payment
institution. The company views this decision as a flagrant violation of fair
competition principles and equal treatment of businesses.

The
information surfaced just a few days after the KNF announced that one of
Cinkciarz.pl’s subsidiaries had its payment license
revoked. The regulator cited the company’s failure to ensure prudent and stable
management of its payment services activities. Although Finance Magnates
could not officially confirm at the time of publication that the lawsuit is
related to the license revocation, there are many indications.

“As a
result of the administrative investigation and based on supervisory findings,
the KNF concluded that the company does not ensure prudent and stable
management of the payment services business. Therefore, there is a rationale
for revoking the company’s authorization to provide payment services as a
domestic payment institution,” KNF commented in a statement originally
published in Polish.

It’s
crucial to note that Conotoxia, known locally under the popular fintech brand
Cinkciarz.pl, is managed through various affiliated entities. Conotoxia sp. z
o.o. handles its operations as a payment institution. In parallel, Cinkciarz.pl
sp. z o.o. operates as a currency exchange service provider and is an active
member of SWIFT. Conotoxia Ltd, which holds a license from CySEC, operates in
the FX/CFD market. Thus, while the KNF has withdrawn the license for the
domestic payment institution as per its recent decision, the Cyprus-issued
license for conducting CFD transactions remains unaffected and in force.

Conotoxia already has considerable experience with legal matters. Over a year ago, Finance Magnates reported on Conotoxia’s triumph in a legal dispute that lasted ten years with another local digital currency exchange, Currency One SA. This competitor had employed Conotoxia’s brand as a keyword in search engine advertising to promote its services. The court ruled that Currency One must pay Conotoxia PLN 2 million as compensation, among other conditions.