Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek announced his resignation on May 30, 2025, following a high-profile scandal involving the sale of bitcoins worth over 1 billion crowns (approximately $45 million) that were obtained from a convicted criminal. This situation has sparked widespread resonance in Czech society and politics.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the Controversial Cryptocurrency Sale
At the end of May, the Czech Ministry of Justice held an auction during which approximately 500 BTC were sold for a total of nearly 957 million crowns. The funds were intended to be directed towards various government programs, including combating drug trafficking in correctional facilities. However, journalists uncovered that these bitcoins were received as a gift from Tomáš Jiřikovský — the founder of the notorious darknet marketplace Sheep Marketplace, who was convicted in 2017 for involvement in criminal activities and was released in 2022.
During the investigation, the police seized a wallet containing 1561 BTC from Jiřikovský. At the beginning of 2025, he successfully regained access to this wallet, after which his lawyer offered the Ministry of Justice 468 BTC as a gift. These funds were the ones sold during the May auction.
Government Reaction and Next Steps
According to leading media reports, Pavel Blažek was aware of the donation’s origins but believed that Jiřikovský had repented and was trying to atone for his past. The minister emphasized that neither the former criminal nor his lawyer made any demands in return for the gift. However, to preserve the government’s reputation, Blažek decided to resign from his position.
“Blažek emphasized that neither the lawyer nor the former criminal made any demands in return. At the same time, he made the decision to resign to avoid discrediting the government.”
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that he is confident in the integrity of Blažek’s actions but supports his decision to resign and is already considering candidates for the position of the new Minister of Justice.
The situation is complicated by reports that the bitcoins from Jiřikovský may be linked to another darknet platform — Nucleus. In this regard, law enforcement agencies are attempting to freeze these assets during the investigation of potential money laundering obtained through illegal means. Meanwhile, Jiřikovský has previously insisted that he received the bitcoins legally.
It is worth noting that earlier, the Czech authorities decided to exempt investors in crypto assets who hold them for more than three years from capital gains tax.