Clients of troubled lender Amber Gold Tuesday found they were unable to withdraw savings they have deposited with the company, despite promises by the firm's president.

Amber Gold boss Marcin Plichta declared on Monday that customers would be able to withdraw their money a day later.

The Gdansk-based lender suspended all pay-outs to clients on Friday, blaming a lack of liquidity on banks which canceled their agreements with the company.

Plichta told a press conference that the move by banks came after Poland's Financial Supervisory Authority (KNF) issued a public warning about the company.

The KNF warned that Amber Gold is one of a number of firms that do not have a license for banking activities such as lending and accepting cash deposits for investment purposes. The company has invested its clients' money in gold and offered very high interest rates in return.

Plichta claimed that by issuing the warning the banking regulator wanted to bring his company down as Amber Gold also owned Polish budget airline OLT Express, which was becoming a strong competitor for state-owned airline LOT on domestic routes.

Last week, when OLT Express filed for bankruptcy, Amber Gold said it was unable to continue funding the carrier or to return the money of thousands of its customers because its bank accounts had been blocked.