Czech police have taken convicted drug trafficker Tomas Zikovsky into detention. This is the man behind the billions of dollars in Bitcoin donations to the country’s Department of Justice, escalating a scandal that has already claimed ministers.
The Supreme Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday by the National Center for Fighting Organized Crime. (ncoz) According to a report on Czech news website Echo24, it has intervened in the case and secured individuals and evidence. The investigation now targets allegations of money laundering and illegal drug handling, separated from the broader investigation that also investigated electricity abuse.
Jizikovský was found guilty and served as a prison sentence for running the Darknet Drug Marketplace, known as Sheep Marketplace. He was arrested in 2016 and later convicted of embezzlement and drug trafficking, and sentenced to nine years in prison.
The arrest was the result of a police attack at the jizeclav home.
The Bitcoin donation incident shook Prime Minister Petr Fiara’s administration a few months before this year’s election raster.
The government survived the unconfident vote submitted by the opposition party and is leading the current poll ahead of the October vote.
Former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek accepted a donation of 468 BTC in June, and Czech Koruna worth around $45 million.
His successor, Eva Decolo, commissioned an independent audit from Grant Thornton. An audit released in late July concluded that the ministry should not accept Bitcoin, warning that it could result from criminal revenue and constitute a criminal offence.
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