Latest news with #Blazek
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Czech government survives no-confidence motion over bitcoin scandal
PRAGUE - The Czech centre-right government on Wednesday survived a vote of no confidence, called after the acceptance of a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin sparked controversy within the ruling coalition months before an election. The biggest opposition party, ANO, which leads opinion polls ahead of an October 3-4 election, had filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Petr Fiala's government, accusing it of helping the former cybercriminal legitimise his bitcoin holdings of potentially illegal origin. The motion failed after two days of debate in the lower house, where Fiala's ruling coalition led by his Civic Democrats Party, holds a majority. Political veteran Pavel Blazek, from Fiala's party, resigned as justice minister on May 31 for accepting the payment on behalf of the state, though he denied doing anything illegal. Fiala has called accepting the gift a political and ethical mistake. The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins to the state was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons for running an illegal drug market on the internet called Sheep Marketplace. Blazek has faced criticism for possibly legitimising the ex-convict's assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them. The gift, Blazek has said, was agreed to be 30% of bitcoins found in a wallet on computers returned to the ex-convict by courts earlier this year. It was not clear what was the ex-convict's motivation to make the donation. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Czech government installs new minister after bitcoin scandal
PRAGUE (Reuters) -Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala appointed a new justice minister on Tuesday to replace political veteran Pavel Blazek, who triggered a political storm when he accepted a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin. Outcry over the payment could dent the ruling coalition's chances in an October 3-4 election in which they trail the opposition. Blazek, a respected lawyer, has said he did nothing illegal but resigned his post and quit Fiala's Civic Democrat (ODS) party after accepting the donation from a man convicted of running an online drug market. Fiala named Eva Decroix as the new justice minister and said she was coming at an important time "to restore trust in the ministry and ensure full transparency around the donated bitcoins." He told her to request an immediate independent audit. The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons. The opposition ANO party plans a no-confidence vote in the government that is likely to fail but may harm Fiala and his allies in voters' eyes. Blazek was attacked for possibly legitimising the ex-convict's assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them. Opposition leader Andrej Babis, a former prime minister whose ANO party looks on course to win the most votes in October's election, has blasted the government for corruption.
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Czech government installs new minister after bitcoin scandal
PRAGUE - Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala appointed a new justice minister on Tuesday to replace political veteran Pavel Blazek, who triggered a political storm when he accepted a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin. Outcry over the payment could dent the ruling coalition's chances in an October 3-4 election in which they trail the opposition. Blazek, a respected lawyer, has said he did nothing illegal but resigned his post and quit Fiala's Civic Democrat (ODS) party after accepting the donation from a man convicted of running an online drug market. Fiala named Eva Decroix as the new justice minister and said she was coming at an important time "to restore trust in the ministry and ensure full transparency around the donated bitcoins." He told her to request an immediate independent audit. The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons. The opposition ANO party plans a no-confidence vote in the government that is likely to fail but may harm Fiala and his allies in voters' eyes. Blazek was attacked for possibly legitimising the ex-convict's assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them. Opposition leader Andrej Babis, a former prime minister whose ANO party looks on course to win the most votes in October's election, has blasted the government for corruption. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
LeMonde
31-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
Czech justice minister resigns after accepting €40 million in bitcoin from convicted criminal
What was initially presented as a great deal quickly unraveled. On Friday, May 30, Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, the conservative politician, resigned after two days of controversy over the sale by his ministry of bitcoins "donated for free" by a criminal convicted of drug trafficking. The scandal began with a tweet from the ministry, which boasted, on Wednesday, on X, that it had auctioned off nearly 500 bitcoins two days earlier, raising close to 1 billion Czech koruna (about €40 million). According to Blazek, the money was meant to help fund the digitization of the justice system, fight drug use in prisons, and provide housing for prison staff. But a major problem was quickly pointed out by Denik N. On Thursday, the news site revealed that the bitcoins were donated by Tomas Jirikovsky, a notorious criminal convicted in 2017 of "embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of weapons." He had been found guilty of running Sheep Marketplace, a marketplace on the dark web known for dealing illegal products.
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Minister of this country resigned over $45 million ‘Bitcoin gift from drug dealer'
Czech Republic's justice minister Pavel Blazek on Friday stepped down amid growing public and political pressure over his ministry's handling of a controversial Bitcoin donation linked to a convicted criminal. The scandal erupted after local media reported that the ministry had accepted a 'cryptocurrency gift' from a convicted drug dealer, later selling the Bitcoin for around 1 billion koruna (approximately $45 million), according to a Bloomberg report. State prosecutors then launched an investigation into the matter. Although Blazek denied any wrongdoing, he announced his resignation on social media platform X, stating that he was unaware of any illegal activity but did not want to tarnish the government's image. "I don't want to damage the reputation of the government, nor the governing coalition," he wrote. Earlier, Czech Republic's justice minister Pavel Blazek defended the transaction, arguing there was no evidence that the cryptocurrency had criminal origins. Nonetheless, the revelation sparked a political storm, especially with national elections looming in October. Prime Minister Petr Fiala, whose coalition is currently lagging behind in the polls, acknowledged Pavel Blazek's intentions and described the resignation as a 'responsible' act. 'I'm convinced Minister Blazek acted in good faith,' Fiala said, while noting the move was necessary to protect the integrity of the government. Elections are due in October in Czech Republic, where its most popular political party has pledged to seek full state ownership in power producer CEZ AS to boost energy security if it returns to government. The ANO group, led by billionaire former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, is weighing three different paths to raise the government's ownership to 100 per cent from 70 per cent, the party's deputy leader Karel Havlicek said in an interview, according to Bloomberg. The buyout of minority stakes in the biggest traded generator in eastern Europe, with a market value of about $29 billion, would be funded by CEZ itself, he said.
