Poland's lower house of parliament passed a sanctions bill that lets the interior minister freeze crypto assets of people on a national list before any court reviews the order. The bill now goes to the Senate and then to President Karol Nawrocki, who has vetoed earlier crypto legislation.
Poland's Sejm voted 240-202 on Friday to let the interior minister freeze crypto assets, bank accounts and other property of people placed on a national sanctions list. The freeze would apply before any court reviews the order.
The Sejm passed the Act on Restrictive Measures at its 68th sitting, with one member abstaining and 17 not voting. The Senate received the bill Monday and has 30 days under Article 121 of the Constitution to adopt, amend or reject it, after which it would go to Nawrocki.
Who can be listed
The law is a government bill that also implements European Union sanctions rules. It treats crypto assets as financial means that can be frozen, using the definition in the EU's MiCA regulation.
The freeze applies only to people and entities the interior minister adds to a public national list. Grounds include supporting a country already under EU sanctions, serious human rights abuses, or initiating or financing information manipulation that poses a serious threat to Poland's national security. The bill carves out ordinary journalism, political speech and publishing, unless that activity is a knowing campaign of the kind the law describes.
A freeze that starts before a judge weighs in
The minister's decision takes effect the day after it is posted in the ministry's Public Information Bulletin and is immediately enforceable. A listed person may file a complaint with an administrative court, but the decision remains in force until a judgment becomes final.
The bill does not target ordinary bitcoin holders in Poland. It reaches crypto assets owned, held or under the control of people and firms on the list, and banks, exchanges and other parties face administrative fines if they fail to freeze those assets. The text does not describe a way for officials to obtain the keys to coins held in self-custody.
Nawrocki's veto record
The bill still has to clear the Senate and Nawrocki's desk. The president refused to sign a separate crypto-assets market bill the Sejm passed on May 15, and lawmakers in September failed to override that veto, voting 241-198.
That earlier fight was about licensing and supervision, not a sanctions freeze. Whether the Senate trims the pre-court freeze, and whether Nawrocki signs a sanctions law that reaches bitcoin, remains open.
Source: Bitcoin Magazine
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