- The Czech justice minister, Pavel Blazek, resigned after receiving a $45 million Bitcoin donation from a convicted drug dealer.
- The opposition party ANO has called for a no-confidence vote against the Czech government over insufficient vetting of the donated funds.
- The Bitcoin was donated by Tomas Jirikovsky, who was convicted in 2017 for operating a dark web platform linked to drug trafficking.
- The government auctioned off the Bitcoin, which had connections to past dark web criminal activity.
- The scandal has weakened the ruling coalition’s position in national polls ahead of the October elections.
Pavel Blazek, the Czech Republic’s justice minister, stepped down last week after receiving a Bitcoin donation valued at about $45 million from Tomas Jirikovsky, an individual previously convicted for drug trafficking. This incident has led the opposition ANO party to call for a parliamentary vote of no confidence, criticizing the government for failing to fully investigate the origin of the funds.
The Bitcoin donation was accepted by the Czech government in March and later sold at a public auction for $45 million. Officials faced broad criticism after it was revealed the funds originated from Jirikovsky, who was found guilty in 2017 for running Sheep Marketplace—an online dark web market associated with illegal activity.
At a recent press conference, Blazek stated he had "no way to investigate the matter" and emphasized he was "not interested so many years after the case," referencing Jirikovsky’s 2017 conviction and 2016 arrest. After serving his sentence, Jirikovsky sought the return of 1,500 Bitcoin that authorities had seized during the investigation, according to a report from Le Monde.
The origins of the donated Bitcoin were first detailed in an investigative report by Deník N, which traced links to dark web markets but found no confirmed ties to other platforms such as Nucleus Marketplace. During the trial, authorities reviewed the source of the Bitcoin, while Czech media speculated about broader illicit connections.
The resignation comes as the ruling Together (SPOLU) coalition, led by the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), trails the opposition ANO in polls—19% versus 32%—ahead of the country’s elections set for October, according to poll data. Some analysts, including Jiří Pehe of New York University Prague, predict the case could further erode public trust in Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s leadership due to his close association with Blazek, as reported by Radio Prague.
In a related development, a dormant wallet linked to the now-defunct Nucleus Marketplace moved roughly $77 million in Bitcoin earlier this year after years of inactivity, with the main wallet still holding about $406 million in Bitcoin, based on Arkham Intelligence data.
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