Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek announced his resignation Friday, following criticism of his ministry selling close to 480 bitcoins, worth about one billion Czech koruna (€38.4 million). The ministry had received the money from an anonymous donor—reportedly a convict who had served prison time for drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession.
Blažek’s ministry received the crypto this year and sold it for Czech korunas in auctions, according to the minister, who said he intended to use the funds to support crime victims. He also stated courts never proved it came from any criminal activity:
I am not aware of any unlawful acts. But I don’t want to tarnish the reputation of the governing coalition.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office, in collaboration with the National Centre for Combating Organized Crime, has initiated an investigation into the details surrounding the transfer of the bitcoins.
Blažek, 56, is a member of the Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who leads a centre-right governing coalition formed after the 2021 election.
The opposition called on Blažek to resign after news about the gift appeared on Wednesday.
Fiala said on X that he believed Blažek had acted “in good faith” and appreciated his resignation as a “responsible step.”
The Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, is heading for a general election, scheduled for October 3–4.
The opposition populist ANO movement, led by former PM Andrej Babiš, is expected to win as the party is currently polling over 30%, leading Fiala’s second-place Civic Democrats by some 20 percentage points.
