29-05-2025
Convict donates Bitcoin worth €40m to Czech Justice Ministry
A convicted criminal has donated 468.468 Bitcoin to the Czech Justice Ministry, a spokesman announced on Thursday.
The cryptocurrency was auctioned off, generating proceeds of almost €40 million ($45.4 million), which are to be used for good causes, such as helping victims of crime and equipping prisons, the spokesman said.
The transaction has raised concern. The newspaper Deník N reported that the police have launched an investigation on the suspicion that the amount was raised through money laundering.
According to the report, the donor was convicted for running an illegal darknet platform for drugs and medicine in the past, and served a four-year prison sentence.
Justice Minister Pavel Blažek rejected the criticism. "Why should a convicted person not be allowed to give something to the state, for example as a form of penance?" he said.
Blažek said he does not know the benefactor personally, but he knows his lawyer, as do hundreds of other lawyers. He stressed that he sees no ethical dilemma in the transaction.
