The Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, who has held this post since 2021, was forced to resign due to “dirty” bitcoins.
The chain of events that led to Blažek’s resignation began in 2017, when Czech Tomas Žirikovsky was jailed for drug trafficking on the darknet marketplace Sheep, illegal possession of weapons, and embezzlement. Four years later, Tomas was released, and through the courts, he got his Bitcoin— a wallet that contained almost 1500 BTC worth $157 million at the current rate, and donated 480 coins to the Ministry of Justice.
Having received cryptocurrency from a convicted person, officials sold the digital assets for $45,2 million at an auction to raise funds for the digitalization of the justice system, combating drug trafficking, and providing prison guards with housing. Police officers from the organized crime department learned about this and began an investigation. Apparently, Blazhek’s subordinates were suspected of receiving a bribe from Zhirikovsky or trading in virtual currency earned illegally.
Having reached an agreement with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, I have decided to leave the post of head of the Ministry of Justice. I have no idea about any violations committed. However, I do not want to damage the reputation of the government and the coalition of ruling parties, — said Blažek.
Pavel Blazek
Fiala supported the now former Minister of Justice and said that he was convinced of Pavel’s good intentions. Oppositionists from the populist center-right party ANO, on the contrary, condemned the official and demanded that the transactions carried out with bitcoins be checked for legality.
