Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blazek has officially resigned following serious controversy over his department's auction of nearly $45 million worth of Bitcoin donated by a convicted drug dealer.
The controversy erupted on May 28 when the ministry announced on the X platform that it had successfully raised nearly 1 billion Czech koruna (about $45 million) by auctioning nearly 500 Bitcoins.
These funds were originally intended for important projects such as the digital reform of the judicial system, combating drug use in prisons, and improving housing conditions for prison staff.
However, Czech media outlet Denik N later revealed that the cryptocurrency actually originated from Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal who was the notorious mastermind behind the dark web platform Sheep Marketplace, infamous for selling illegal goods.
In March of this year, Jirikovsky's lawyer proactively contacted Blazek, proposing to donate one-third of the Bitcoin to the Ministry of Justice. Blazek accepted the proposal without thorough investigation and did not review the source of the cryptocurrency.
"I did not have the ability to investigate this matter, and after so many years since the case, I am no longer interested," he stated at a press conference on Thursday, suggesting that the donation reflected Jirikovsky's "repentance" intentions.
However, public skepticism regarding the lack of necessary due diligence in this transaction has been growing. Opposition leaders have directly labeled it a major political scandal, and the police have now officially launched a criminal investigation into the source of these Bitcoins.
Jirikovsky was sentenced to prison in 2017 for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal weapons offenses. Since his release in 2021, he has been attempting to legally reclaim 1,500 Bitcoins that were confiscated by law enforcement at the time of his arrest.
During his criminal trial, Czech law enforcement authorities had strong suspicions that these funds were linked to another dark web market, Nucleus, which was shut down shortly after Jirikovsky's arrest. Despite numerous doubts, he has consistently claimed that these Bitcoins were obtained through legal means, a claim that ultimately allowed him to retain these digital assets after serving his sentence.
Faced with increasing political pressure and with only four months remaining until legislative elections, Prime Minister Petr Fiala chose to distance himself from his long-time political ally Blazek.
Blazek then officially announced his resignation on May 30. "I personally do not believe I have committed any illegal acts. However, I do not wish to harm the public image of the government or the ruling coalition due to personal issues," he stated in his resignation announcement.
It is worth noting that on February 6 of this year, Czech President Petr Pavel signed a "landmark" cryptocurrency legislation, providing the Czech Republic with a digital asset regulatory framework consistent with EU law.
This new legislation significantly simplifies cryptocurrency tax rules and implements the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory standards in a way that "supports innovation and development across the entire industry."
Related: New York City Comptroller Rejects Mayor Adams' Bitcoin (BTC) Bond Proposal
Original article: “Czech Justice Minister Resigns Over $45 Million Bitcoin (BTC) Donation from Criminal”
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