2025 Czech government Bitcoin scandal

The 2025 Czech government Bitcoin scandal refers to is a major political scandal that the Czech Republic experienced, following the revelation of a substantial Bitcoin donation made to the Ministry of Justice. The controversy ultimately led to the resignation of Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, marking a significant moment in the country's contemporary political history.

The controversy centers on a donation of 468 Bitcoins—valued at approximately 1 billion Czech koruna (around $45 million)—made to the Czech Ministry of Justice by Tomáš Jiříkovský, a convicted criminal known for operating the dark web marketplace "Sheep Marketplace," which facilitated illegal transactions.^[1][2] Jiříkovský had been convicted in 2017 for offenses including embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal arms possession. After his release from prison in 2021, he sought to reclaim the Bitcoins that had been seized during his arrest. In a surprising turn, he donated a portion of these assets to the Ministry of Justice.^[3][4][5]

In computer science, blockchain refers to a specific type of distributed decentralized database that maintains an ever-expanding number of records, which are protected against unauthorized interference both from external sources and from the nodes within the network itself. In the case of Bitcoin, one can envision the blockchain as a ledger of all transactions associated with the cryptocurrency. Therefore, it is possible to examine what occurred during the payments at the time of the donation to the Ministry of Justice.

Editor Martin Drtina from the website Lupa.cz analyzed the developments on the blockchain using the documents available at the time. The journalist discovered that a dormant Bitcoin wallet—a storage space for Bitcoin within the entire Bitcoin network—that belonged to the Nucleus marketplace became active with transactions over the course of two days, 6 and 7 March 2025. Furthermore, the editor clarified the identity of the expert from the donation agreement as Jiří Berger. On 7 March 2025, between 9 AM and 12 PM, a control transfer of exactly 0.468 BTC occurred to a Trezor T hardware wallet owned by the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Matters. On the same cryptocurrency address, a total of 468 BTC was subsequently sent on that same day in four parts. Twenty-two minutes after the notary's record was completed, an additional 151 BTC was transferred from the same address to other addresses, where, apart from another trio of transfers, they remain to this day. According to Drtina, he clearly demonstrated that the individual who transferred the funds to the state controlled all wallets connected to the Nucleus marketplace.^[6]

Justice Minister Pavel Blažek accepted the donation without thoroughly investigating its origins. He later stated that he believed the donation was an act of repentance by Jiříkovský and that he did not anticipate any legal complications. However, the lack of due diligence sparked public outcry and accusations of potential money laundering. Facing mounting pressure and to prevent further damage to the government's reputation, Blažek resigned on 30 May 2025.^[7][8]

The scandal has intensified political tensions, with opposition parties calling for additional resignations, including those of Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, alleging they were aware of the donation and its dubious origins.^[9][5]

On 19 June 2025, the government survived a no-confidence vote triggered by the scandal.^[10]

The High Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc has initiated an investigation into the case, examining potential charges of abuse of official authority and money laundering. The police's organized crime unit is also involved in probing the circumstances surrounding the donation and its acceptance by the Ministry.^[7][9] Officials at the National Organized Crime Control Center have requested the cooperation of the U.S. FBI to jointly investigate Jiříkovský's connection to the dark web marketplace Nucleus Market. On 11 June 2025, members of the Financial Analysis Authority (FAA) Audit Committee discussed the case and found that the FAA had acted correctly.

On 5 June 2025, Neovlivni.cz wrote that Jiříkovský had traveled to Asia, which he could have done because he was not accused of anything at the time. Later it was discovered that he was in Taiwan. Jiříkovský promised that he would return in the second half of June.^[11]

The editors of the Politico server have warned that the case may help Andrej Babiš win the upcoming parliamentary elections. Petr Kaniok, a university teacher from Masaryk University, told the server that government politicians managed to cover up the case because Blažek resigned as minister.^[12] The journalist Jan Lopatka noted for Reuters that Fiala's government should not be given a vote of no confidence because of the majority of 104 MPs.^[13] The AP journalists said that the then government opposition accused the government of money laundering.^[7] The journalist Jean-Baptiste Chastand of the French daily Le Monde noted the transformation of government officials' communication from ‘giving money away for free’ to Blažek's removal from office.^[3] The motive of fear of the Czech Republic's failure as a money-laundering state was elaborated by Aneta Zachová for the European news website Euractiv.com, who shared President Petr Pavel's concerns about the erosion of trust in rule of law.^[14]

The journalist Anton Filippov from the Ukrainian newspaper European Pravda stated that the case could jeopardize Czech assistance in the war in Ukraine. He further speculated about the weakening of Fiala within ODS and the possibility of him being replaced by Martin Kuba, which would lead to an unpredictable change in the relationship between Ukraine and the Czech Republic.^[15] The editor Albin Sybera of the German agency Bne IntelliNews noted Zbyněk Stanjura's reluctance to resign from the position of Minister of Finance after the scandal, even though Blažek had informed him about the donation in advance.^[16] Sybera also quoted the Czech economist Richard Hindls, referencing his interview with Czech Radio. Hindls stated that this type of transaction involving cryptocurrencies, including their sale at a state auction, would not be possible in the private sector due to state regulation.^[17]

A number of Czech politicians, journalists and political commentators reacted to the case.

Czech political analyst Lukáš Valeš described the Czech Republic as a Banana republic, referring to the foreign press. Another political analyst, Jan Kubáček, commented on the case saying: ‘The state administration is either incompetent or unprincipled.‘ Kubáček disliked the government's sketchy communication about the situation and the level of unprofessionalism of government officials. During an interview with CNN Prima News, Kubáček criticized the slow speed with which the case was handled by Petr Fiala and said that the case could be thematically classified as one of the ‘demons of the 1990s’ because the justice minister went against any principles of justice in the Czech Republic. Kubáček mentioned that STAN's departure from the government of Petr Fiala must either be logical for voters or it will be necessary to strictly define itself against ministers from ODS. Political analyst Josef Mlejnek expressed the opinion that the case will weaken both the electoral coalition SPOLU and Petr Fiala himself. "I never dreamed it was possible. That the Justice Ministry would take and legalize money from a convicted person without knowing the origin of that money," political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková commented on the case.^[18]

Political analyst Daniel Šárovec described the trio of Blažek, Fiala and Stanjura as naive. Šárovec noted that the case has the potential to undermine the legitimacy of the government. He then pointed out that the Rakušan's statement about remaining in Fiala's cabinet is limited to ‘right here and right now.’ He speculated that the political leaders were pressed for their word because they wanted to buy time. Šárovec noted that Dexcroix was merely a ‘bridging minister’. Valeš recommended that ODS leave the government itself so that it could start with a different political face than Petr Fiala. He described the case as the worst in the last 35 years after the Velvet Revolution. He added that Fiala had failed to restore the right in the Czech Republic as its metaphorical saviour and would not become another Václav Klaus. He himself would have expected that STAN representatives could leave Fiala's cabinet but let the current government effectively rule until the end of the term.

Political commentator Thomas Kulidakis said that he sees similarities in the case with other ODS cases from the past, including the coupon privatization and the Nagyová case. Political commentator Kateřina Perknerová described the case as an event with too many coincidences. Journalist Petr Honzejk commented on Blažek's departure from his post as minister, saying that there was no society-wide catharsis that would restore trust in politics. Publicist David Klimeš commented on the development of the case, saying that finally the public had more comprehensive information. He also expressed the opinion that the story of the banana republic - the Czech Republic - is not over.

Commentator Miroslav Korecký pointed out the direct connection of Decroix, who communicated with Blažek about the e-mail of Deputy Dvořák. The email was supposed to prove that Dvořák should have known about the whole case from the beginning. Korecký used the phrase ’The shredders will go there.’ for the supposed developments at the Ministry of Justice. He also expressed his conviction that neither TOP 09 nor the KDU-ČSL could leave the cabinet because they were on the verge of their own existence. He described Fiala's TV appearance as the speech of a ‘communist papal’.

Pavel Rychetský described the case as the cause of the upheaval in public opinion and the electoral preferences of the SPOLU coalition. He denied that Jiřikovský's actions were pure charity. He also pointed out that, as of 28 June 2025, the state's consideration for the financial donation was still unknown. Political commentator Jindřich Šídlo warned that the media coverage of the case was confused with simple verbal acronyms associated with complex cryptocurrency technology, which made the case less well understood by Czech society. Journalist Martin Fendrych did not believe the different approaches of officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance in his commentary on the development of the case.

Political marketing strategist Oto Klempíř commented on the case, saying that the loser in the case is Czech republic and the winner is the darknet. According to Klempíř, the politicians did not find anything in the case. Klempíř further sent the development of the case as having entered the ‘hot phase’ of the election campaign. He saw the biggest problem as the end of the ‘Moravians’ in the SPOLU coalition. Klempíř commented on the effectiveness of the crisis communication of Fiala's cabinet that the government looks like it does not have a boss. In an interview for the VOX TV internet channel, Klempíř said that Marek Benda is the defender of the whole case. Subsequently, Klempíř described the tendency of supporters of the SPOLU coalition to create posts on the social network X, where they argued that no one had been charged in the case and no damage had been done. Klempíř elaborated on the mental setup of the supporters in relation to other people in public space by saying, ‘What kind of useless hype are you making here, you uninformed rabble?’ In Klempíř's opinion, the aforementioned reactions on social media take the form of a political counter-attack, which aims to put the bitcoin case into a metaphorical communication fog through media slogans so that the Czech public loses all interest in it.

Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) said that Czechs are far more interested in affordable housing than in the bitcoin scandal. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) said that he does not intend to overthrow the government of Petr Fiala at the beginning of June 2025. Subsequently, Rakušan described Eva Decroix's (ODS) statement that Deputy Minister Karel Dvořák (STAN) was implicated because Decroix knew about the donation in advance as an effort to dilute suspicion on as many people as possible. MEP Jan Farský (STAN) initially supported Rakušan's more conciliatory tone towards remaining in Fial's cabinet. Later Farský did not rule out a possible departure of STAN from Fiala's government. Farský also called for a 14-day ultimatum for ODS members to explain the case as a whole.^[19] ‘The Bitcoin case of Minister Blažek is a disgrace with the potential to jeopardize the Czech Republic's credit rating. It damages trust at home and abroad,’ said MEP Danuše Nerudová (STAN). The discomfiture of ODS and STAN is evidenced by their joint night meeting on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, when Prime Minister Fiala left the meeting room several times to process his own emotions behind closed doors, according to participants from both sides.^[20]

Andrej Babiš, the chairman of the opposition ANO 2011 movement, commented on the case, saying that it was a criminal act that bore the hallmarks of money laundering by the state.^[21] He described the case as the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the Czech Republic.^[22] Babiš expressed the opinion that by dismissing Blažek, ODS representatives have made Don Pablo of Brno (the media nickname of Blažek) a metaphorical scapegoat. Subsequently, Babiš gave a speech in France on Monday 10 June 2025. Speaking in French at an event of the European faction Patriots for Europe, Babiš said that the Fiala cabinet is corrupt in connection with the Bitcoin scandal.^[23] Alena Schillerová, chairwoman of the ANO 2011 parliamentary club, commented on the case by saying that the ministers shook hands with the mafia.^[24] Karel Havlíček, first deputy chairman of the ANO 2011 movement, referred to the case as ‘a government money launderer from child pornography’. Havlíček himself suggested that the cabinet of Petr Fiala should resign.

Former Czech President Václav Klaus said of the situation, "The case could not have arisen without the Prime Minister's knowledge. They were convinced of their untouchability." He said he had never seen Decroix in his life and expressed the opinion that she was not an expert in constitutional law. Klaus assessed that this was just one of the fatal mistakes of Fiala's cabinet. Klaus assessed that this was just one of the fatal mistakes of Fiala's cabinet. Former Czech President Miloš Zeman said of the case, ‘Great people make great mistakes. Just as Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 and it was a big mistake, Blažek has now made a tragic mistake and has drawn the consequences.‘ Zeman subsequently told Blažek through the media, ’Why did you do that, you moron?’ Zeman described the release of the cryptocurrency wallet as premature release and the billion crowns from prison as pure mafia and said the situation was so serious that three governments would metaphorically fall. President Petr Pavel commented on the case, saying it is ‘a big mess that has the potential to damage the Czech Republic abroad.’

The bitcoin scandal did not affect the electoral preferences of the SPOLU coalition. According to the director of the STEM agency, Jaromír Mazák, this happened because people need more time to form their own opinions on more complex cases, or because the voters of SPOLU see Blažek's resignation as a sufficient response to the case.^[25] According to another survey of voter preferences, the electoral core and potential remained stable after the outbreak of the case. Analysts compiling the IPSOS election survey until 1 June 2025 stated that the predicted election result of the SPOLU coalition was within statistical margin of error. Data scientists from Median found that for almost 30% of the original voters of the SPOLU coalition, the scandal is the reason for the fall of the government of Petr Fiala.^[26]

Representatives of the Czech non-profit organization Milion chvilek pro demokracii said in their statement on the bitcoin case that they appreciated the efforts of the new Minister Decroix to conduct a transparent investigation into the case. They criticized the lack of concrete steps in dealing with the case.^[27] Earlier, the "momentarians" pointed out that the case is an opportunity to test the personal credibility of Petr Fiala and called for "political accountability" for Finance Minister Stanjura.^[28]

According to a survey by the STEM agency, two-thirds of Czechs considered the case to be serious in the second half of June 2025. In response to the case, the SPOLU coalition began to lose electoral preferences. According to STEM analysts, the more serious cases can be expected to have a more gradual effect on preferences over time.Data journalist Michal Janko's meta-analysis of election polls in June 2025 found that the SPOLU coalition did not fall below 20 percentage points in most polls. Janko also noticed that there was a huge outflow of supporters from STAN in the second half of June 2025. 3 out of 4 original voters of the PirSTAN coalition considered the bitcoin case to be serious in June 2025. 3 out of 4 original voters of the PirSTAN coalition considered the bitcoin case to be serious in June 2025. STAN representatives scored 10.9 percentage points in the June 2025 election polls, their worst result since January 2025. Janko cited the reason for the drop in preferences as the inconsistency of STAN deputies left the chamber before the vote because ODS politicians did not sufficiently explain the case according to her views. As an alternative to the first reason for the drop in the polls, Janko added that the accusations about the involvement of Deputy Dvořák (STAN) in the case by Eva Decroix (ODS) and Alena Schillerová (ANO 2011) could have caused an outflow of potential voters.

Journalists from the Seznam Zprávy newsroom have accessed an internal poll of electoral preferences commissioned by the SPOLU coalition.The poll shows that the coalition has lost the support of its disappointed supporters from the last election because of the case. Sociologist Jan Herzmann commented on the poll, ’The case has definitely given SPOLU a leg up in its quest for electoral victory.’^[29] A third of the coalition's original voters agreed on the need for other ministers to resign. One in five of the coalition's original voters wanted the entire Fiala's cabinet to fall.