Poland’s lower house of parliament, the Sejm, has approved a sanctions bill that expands the government’s authority to freeze digital assets and traditional bank accounts without requiring advance judicial approval. According to Bitcoin Magazine, the measure passed Friday by a vote of 240 to 202, granting the interior minister the power to block bitcoin and banking funds belonging to individuals and entities named on Poland’s national sanctions list. The legislation also stipulates that a court appeal would not pause the freeze, meaning that once the interior minister imposes a restriction, the assets remain locked throughout any subsequent legal challenge.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces additional review before it can become law. As reported by Cointelegraph, the proposal would broaden the existing grounds for adding both people and companies to Poland’s national sanctions list, potentially expanding the pool of targets subject to asset seizures. If enacted in its current form, the law would explicitly place cryptocurrency holdings under the same enforcement umbrella as conventional fiat deposits, treating bitcoin as a reachable asset class within the country’s sanctions architecture.
By eliminating the need for prior court sign-off, the legislation accelerates the government’s ability to act against suspected sanctioned parties. Because a court appeal would not pause the freeze, affected individuals and businesses could see their funds remain inaccessible for the entire duration of a legal dispute. This design prioritizes rapid administrative enforcement over immediate judicial oversight at the initial stage of any sanctions designation, shifting the burden toward post-freeze litigation that does not guarantee temporary relief.
The vote comes amid wider efforts across the European Union to tighten financial controls and prevent sanctioned entities from using digital currencies to circumvent banking restrictions. Polish lawmakers have specifically highlighted bitcoin alongside traditional bank funds as assets subject to the new freeze powers, reflecting growing concern that self-custodied crypto can serve as a loophole in conventional sanctions regimes. The 240-202 vote in the Sejm indicates significant support for expanding executive authority over financial freezes, even as the new framework reduces the role for courts in halting restrictions before they take effect.
Should the Senate pass the bill without amendment, it would proceed to the president for final signature. Once in force, the law would grant interior ministry officials sweeping discretion to impose immediate financial restrictions on designated parties, with crypto assets and bank funds frozen on the same day a name is added to the sanctions list. Because a court appeal would not pause the freeze, the legislation fundamentally alters the procedural balance between administrative action and judicial recourse in Poland’s sanctions enforcement system.