tl;dr
Czech police have detained convicted drug trafficker Tomas Jirikovsky and seized assets linked to a multi-million-dollar bitcoin donation to the Ministry of Justice. The National Centre for Combating Organised Crime conducted raids focused on suspected money laundering and drug trafficking. Jirikovs...
Czech police have detained convicted drug trafficker Tomas Jirikovsky and seized assets in connection with a multi-million-dollar bitcoin donation to the Ministry of Justice, escalating an ongoing investigation. The National Centre for Combating Organised Crime conducted raids focusing on suspected money laundering and illegal drug trafficking.
The probe, overseen by the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc, was recently separated from a larger investigation revealed in May. Jirikovsky, identified as the donor of 468 bitcoins valued at about $45 million at the time, was taken into custody at his property in Breclav. The donation had been accepted by then-Justice Minister Pavel Blazek without verifying its origins.
Blazek resigned amid widespread criticism after revelations that the bitcoin donation came from Jirikovsky, a convicted darknet operator previously imprisoned for drug trafficking. An audit ordered by Blazek’s successor, Eva Decroix, concluded the ministry should not have accepted the gift due to its likely status as proceeds of crime.
Prosecutors stated the current investigation aims to clarify aspects of the case and secure persons and property, withholding further details to avoid compromising the process. The scandal triggered a no-confidence vote in June, which the government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala narrowly survived. The opposition party ANO has since demanded additional ministerial resignations, including that of Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura.
Eva Decroix has promised to release an expanded timeline of the case, featuring over 8,000 entries, as scrutiny intensifies ahead of the October parliamentary elections.