Poland's Lower House Passes Sanctions Bill With Crypto Freezes

Poland's lower house of parliament passed a government-backed sanctions bill on November 6 that would let authorities freeze crypto assets, approving the measure by 240 votes to 202 with one abstention. The Sejm forwarded the Act on Restrictive Measures to the Senate on Monday, according to the parliamentary records cited by Cointelegraph.

The text names crypto assets explicitly. It puts them alongside bank deposits, account balances, securities, dividends and credit as financial funds that can be frozen when a person or company is added to the national sanctions list. The crypto definition refers to Article 3 of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, and the draft defines freezing as blocking movements, transfers, use or transactions that would change an asset's ownership, location, value or availability.

The interior minister would run the national sanctions list and issue listing decisions, publishing them in the ministry's public information bulletin. A decision takes effect the day after publication. Listed parties could challenge the designation in an administrative court, but the bill allows enforcement to begin before any court ruling, and a contested decision stays in force until the judgment becomes final.

Listing grounds would widen beyond the current framework. The bill adds foreign interference and information manipulation that pose a serious threat to national security, alongside existing grounds such as support for sanctioned states and certain personal or financial connections to designated parties.

Poland already keeps a national sanctions list under a 2022 law written to counter support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Crypto.news reported that Deputy Interior Minister Czeslaw Mroczek told the Sejm during a September 3 debate that the list then held 554 entries: 119 businesses and 435 individuals, of which 99 companies were linked to Russian capital and 20 to Belarusian capital. Mroczek said the new legislation would let national measures reach situations beyond Russia and Belarus, and the government says the proposal implements EU Directive 2024/1226 on offenses and penalties for violations of EU sanctions.

The government's own project description argues that Poland's sanctions provisions are scattered across different laws, which complicates implementation for businesses. The proposal would organize responsibilities, information sharing, supervision and penalties in one framework. Crypto.news added that the draft lets the minister specify which funds or economic resources a restriction covers and permits limiting the written explanation that accompanies a decision on national security or public order grounds.

A designation reaches service providers directly. Banks and exchanges holding assets for a listed customer would have to apply the restrictions, and providers could be prohibited from processing transactions or making assets available to that customer. A listing order does not itself give authorities the private keys needed to move funds from a self-custodied wallet, so enforcement against personal wallets still depends on identifying the assets and blocking dealings with the designated holder.

The bill also sets limits on how far a freeze reaches into daily life. Authorities could authorize access to frozen resources for basic needs including food, housing, medicine, taxes and utilities, as well as reasonable legal fees and certain maintenance costs, with access depending on a separate decision and its conditions. Banks and exchanges holding assets for listed customers would have to comply, though a listing order by itself does not hand authorities the private keys needed to move funds out of a self-custodied wallet, according to crypto.news' earlier coverage of the draft.

The sanctions bill is moving through a separate track from Poland's crypto licensing rules. President Karol Nawrocki issued a third veto of the domestic supervision framework on June 11, and a September override attempt in the Sejm failed with 241 votes in favor, 198 against and three abstentions, short of the 266 needed.

The Senate now has 30 days to approve, amend or reject the sanctions legislation. If it takes no action, Poland's Constitution treats the bill as approved in the form the Sejm passed, allowing it to proceed to the president for consideration.