The Polish government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk failed to override a presidential veto on a bill regulating cryptocurrencies, thwarting attempts to tighten oversight of a market that Tusk says is open to exploitation by Russian intelligence and money laundering. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
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The clash over the cryptocurrency bill became another chapter in the confrontation between liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk and nationalist President Karol Nawrocki.
Tusk insisted on the adoption of a law implementing the EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets. This law was supposed to give Poland's financial regulator supervisory powers and introduce criminal liability for offenses in the crypto sphere.
There is no doubt that this market is very vulnerable to exploitation by foreign services, intelligence services and the mafia. The task is for the state to provide tools to ensure that it is not helpless
The Prime Minister also held a closed session to present lawmakers with "urgent information regarding national security," and in a post on X, he portrayed the vote as a struggle between "Russian money and services against the security of the state and citizens."
However, President Nawrocki and right-wing parties argue that the regulation is excessive and will scare away crypto companies due to excessive burden.
To stand on this rostrum and say: "Either you vote for the Russian mafia, or you vote for my bill" - this is giving a false choice, and you know it perfectly well
Tusk's government needed a three-fifths majority, but it failed to override the president's veto. Polish security services have previously stated that Moscow used cryptocurrencies to pay people to carry out sabotage, although Russia denied these accusations.