The Czech Republic has been shaken by a Bitcoin scandal. On Friday, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned, with the opposition set to demand the resignation of the coalition government this week as well.
The situation caught on fire at the end of last week after Blažek, a conservative politician, accepted a large donation in BTC and sold it for about $45.8 million in March, the AP reported. The opposition has raised concerns over the source of the donation.
Blažek received the coins from Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal. Jirikovsky operated the Sheep Marketplace. In 2017, he went to prison for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal trading of weapons.
Jirikovsky’s lawyer reportedly approached Blažek in March 2025, saying his client would donate 30% of his BTC stash to the ministry. Police had confiscated the wallet containing this BTC and returned it to Jirikovsky after his release in 2021.
Poslední veřejná dražba se uskutečnila včera 27. května, celkem bylo úspěšně realizováno 78 elektronických aukcí a do majetku státu směřuje 956,8 mil. Kč. Více informací se dozvíte na zítřejší tiskové konferenci. Akreditace jsou možné zde: https://t.co/5PYWFoeGNS https://t.co/1FoG3NXIoI pic.twitter.com/hUzce16hxy
— Ministerstvo spravedlnosti ČR (@SpravedlnostCZ) May 28, 2025
Blažek did not check the coins’ origin. “I have no way to investigate the matter, and I wasn’t interested so many years after the case,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. Jirikovsky probably wanted “to repent” through the donation, he said.
He also claimed that courts had not proven that the BTC came from criminal activity.
However, the opposition parties argue that it’s unclear why Jirikovsky gave the coins to the ministry or where the coins came from. They accused Blažek of potential money laundering.
Furthermore, they argue that the state shouldn’t use the money until these points are clear.
Meanwhile, the High Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc is investigating the case on suspicion of abuse of official authority and laundering of proceeds of crime.
Blažek denied knowledge of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, he said he resigned so not to harm the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The PM said he believed that Blažek acted with goodwill.
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Czech Coalition Government in Danger?
Today, Brno Daily reported that the lower house will hold an urgent session on Thursday. The opposition parties will use the occasion to demand the resignation of the coalition government, the deputy leaders of the ANO and SPD parties, Karel Havlicek and Radim Fiala, said on Sunday.
“We will want the government to find sufficient self-reflection and resign,” Havlicek said. The current cabinet could stay until the parliamentary elections in October, but it shouldn’t have the power to make major decisions.
If the coalition government doesn’t resign,
“We are very strongly considering calling a no-confidence vote in the government.”
Fiala, deputy leader of the far-right SPD, said that his party “will support an extraordinary session” and a vote of no confidence in the government.
However, lower house speaker Jan Skopecek said the opposition’s plans are just “theatre” in the campaign ahead of the elections. He added that Blažek has already resigned, so there is no reason for the cabinet to do so as well.
Moreover, Czech Fiscal Council chair Mojmir Hampl argued that this case raises numerous key technical questions. However, these will not be answered in the pre-election stage.
Meanwhile, Le Monde reported that Jirikovsky had been trying to recover about 1,500 BTC, seized by the police, since his imprisonment. During the trial, the court suspected that the coins came from Nucleus. This is a dark web marketplace that, the report claims, shut down the day after Jirikovsky’s arrest.
Furthermore, BTC market monitors noted that a portion of the Nucleus-linked BTC, dormant since 2016, moved to new wallets in March. This is after Blažek signed the agreement, reports claim.
Jirikovsky claimed that he got to keep the BTC because he had obtained it legally. Blažek claimed he hadn’t made any promises in return for the donation.
All these allegations will likely be brought up during the Thursday emergency session.
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