US EditionCzech Justice Minister Resigns over a Donated Bitcoin Scandal - CT Insider
- In June 2025, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek stepped down amid controversy surrounding a controversial Bitcoin contribution valued at $45 million that was linked to the Czech Ministry of Justice.
- The donation came from Tomáš Jiříkovský, a convicted cybercriminal who ran the illegal Sheep Marketplace and was imprisoned in 2017.
- The High Prosecutor’s Office and organized crime division are conducting investigations into potential misconduct and the laundering of funds related to the donation.
- Blažek explained that he did not expect any legal issues from accepting the donation, believing it was made with honest intentions, while opposition parties demanded a vote of no confidence.
- The scandal has shaken public trust, threatens the ruling coalition's election chances in October 2025, and raised concerns about corruption and transparency in Czech state institutions.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Outgoing Justice Minister Pavel Blažek (ODS) will not speak at an extraordinary meeting called by the opposition on Thursday over the bitcoin scandal. Blažek is stepping down as head of the ministry because of it, and he was supposed to face questions about a suspicious bitcoin donation of a billion crowns to the ministry at the meeting. Some opposition MPs consider this weak.
The Minister of Justice resigned.
The Ministry of Justice received a Bitcoin donation worth about 40 million euros. Following the resignation of the Minister, the opposition is now calling for the whole government to be re-elected.
"I don't know where he is. I'm afraid they'll take revenge on the family," confides the former wife of Tomáš Jiřikovský. The man who donated a billion in bitcoins to the state. The case involving Minister Pavel Blažek is shaking the government.
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