Czech – Earlybirds Invest

https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sat, 16 Aug 2025 13:44:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.7 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Czech – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Czech police arrest donor in a billion-dollar bitcoin scandal: report https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-police-arrest-donor-in-a-billion-dollar-bitcoin-scandal-report/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-police-arrest-donor-in-a-billion-dollar-bitcoin-scandal-report/#respond Sat, 16 Aug 2025 13:44:48 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-police-arrest-donor-in-a-billion-dollar-bitcoin-scandal-report/

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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Darknet Founder Held in Bitcoin Case Linked to Czech Minister’s Resignation https://earlybirdsinvest.com/darknet-founder-held-in-bitcoin-case-linked-to-czech-ministers-resignation/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/darknet-founder-held-in-bitcoin-case-linked-to-czech-ministers-resignation/#respond Fri, 15 Aug 2025 18:35:37 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/darknet-founder-held-in-bitcoin-case-linked-to-czech-ministers-resignation/

Tomas Jirikovsky, the creator of the darknet site Sheep Marketplace, has been detained in the Czech Republic over a Bitcoin transfer linked to the resignation of Pavel Blazek, the country’s former Justice Minister.

The case centers on a payment of 468 BTC
BTC

$117,056.12

, worth about $45 million at the time. The local media outlet Deník N reported on August 15 that the payment was made to the minister in an attempt to avoid a new prison sentence.

On August 14, Chief State Prosecutor Radim Dragoun stated that officers were “securing people and things”. He explained that the matter had recently been separated from other proceedings to be handled on its own.

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Although the official statement did not confirm any arrest, Deník N named Jirikovsky as the person taken into custody. He tried to get away by climbing onto the roof of his home during the police raid, but was caught later.

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Jirikovsky is known for setting up Sheep Marketplace, an online platform used for selling drugs, weapons, and fake goods. Reports from Seznam Zprávy suggested he earned about 680 BTC from running the site, which launched in 2013 when Bitcoin was trading near $100.

After closing the site, Jirikovsky allegedly took another 841 BTC from its users, both buyers and sellers, which brought his total Bitcoin holdings to at least 1,500 BTC. These actions have long been the subject of investigations and public debate.

Recently, Zero Edge was shut down, and its former leader is facing civil and criminal cases over how the company’s funding was spent. What did the case unfold? Read the full story.

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Bitcoin Scandal Rocks Czech Politics, But Prime Minister Fiala Clings to Power https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-scandal-rocks-czech-politics-but-prime-minister-fiala-clings-to-power/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-scandal-rocks-czech-politics-but-prime-minister-fiala-clings-to-power/#respond Sun, 22 Jun 2025 15:13:17 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-scandal-rocks-czech-politics-but-prime-minister-fiala-clings-to-power/

A controversial Bitcoin
BTC

$99,562.07

transaction has caused a political stir in the Czech Republic, but was not enough to bring down the current government.

On June 17, lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted on a no-confidence motion aimed at removing Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government.

Of the 192 members present, 98 opposed the motion while 94 supported it. The vote allowed Fiala’s coalition to remain in power, though by a narrow margin.

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In a post on X following the vote, Fiala said the result was expected and accused the opposition of using the session to spread “insults and lies”. Still, he acknowledged public concern about how government systems might have been used to make criminal income appear legal, according to a report by Brno Daily, a local media outlet.

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The issue began when 468 BTC, worth over $45 million at the time, was sent by convicted darknet drug dealer Tomas Jirikovsky to former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek.

Blazek’s ministry sold the Bitcoin and sent about 30% of the money to the state. Critics argued that this process bypassed standard procedures and may have allowed funds tied to illegal activity to be reused without proper oversight.

Meanwhile, Global Ledger and Recoveris, working with Reuters, found that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) recently used Bitcoin to recruit a Canadian teen. Why? Read the full story.

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Czech government survives an unconfident vote beyond $45 million in Bitcoin donation https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-government-survives-an-unconfident-vote-beyond-45-million-in-bitcoin-donation/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-government-survives-an-unconfident-vote-beyond-45-million-in-bitcoin-donation/#respond Sun, 22 Jun 2025 02:30:11 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-government-survives-an-unconfident-vote-beyond-45-million-in-bitcoin-donation/

The Czech government survived a political storm this week and survived a no-confidence vote caused by a $45 million Bitcoin payment from convicted criminals.

The scandal shook Prime Minister Petr Fiara’s administration a few months before the general election, Reuters reported.

The 468 Bitcoin payment was made to the state by a man who was previously imprisoned for running a darknet drug market known as the Sheep Marketplace.

The donation was accepted by then Minister of Justice Pavel Blazek. Pavel Blazek later resigned in repulsion on behalf of the government. Bitcoin is sold for around 1 billion Czech Koruna and is worth around $45 million.

The opposition party who leads the poll ahead of the October vote filed a motion for no confidence, denounced the control coalition for potentially helping to wash illegal assets due to unknown sources of BTC.

Critics say the government should have involved prosecutors or police instead of accepting potentially contaminated crypto funds. After two days of discussion, Motion failed in the House. There, the Fiala Union holds a majority.

Still, Blazek argued that he acted legally in accepting donations.

The donor’s motives remain unknown. The incident shook the government of the country earlier this year that approved a proposal by the central bank to study Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Chief of the Czech National Bank, Yale Mischur, even said that Bitcoin is even “collected” with the cryptocurrency.

Poly market traders are now seeing the main opposition party of October, ANO, win parliamentary elections. The recognized odds of the results are currently 92%, but Blazek’s ODS party chances are just 6%.

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$45 Million Bitcoin Sale Triggers No-Confidence Vote in Czech Parliament https://earlybirdsinvest.com/45-million-bitcoin-sale-triggers-no-confidence-vote-in-czech-parliament/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/45-million-bitcoin-sale-triggers-no-confidence-vote-in-czech-parliament/#respond Fri, 13 Jun 2025 08:36:05 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/45-million-bitcoin-sale-triggers-no-confidence-vote-in-czech-parliament/

A large Bitcoin sale by the Czech government has triggered political backlash and calls for a vote of no confidence.

The opposition party ANO is seeking answers about how the sale was handled and is pushing for a debate in parliament on June 17.

According to a June 12 post on X, ANO questioned whether the Justice Ministry had properly verified the source of the Bitcoin before the sale. The party also asked who had authorized the transaction and whether proper legal procedures had been followed.

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ANO claimed that some Bitcoin buyers are requesting refunds, although no specific details have been made public. The party also questioned how any compensation would be handled and what funds would be used.

Alena Schillerova, ANO’s vice chair, said in a June 12 post on X that the party had “no choice” but to take action.

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The Justice Ministry sold nearly 500 Bitcoin on March 28, seized from convicted criminal Tomas Jirikovsky, for around 1 billion Czech koruna (about $45 million).

Justice Minister Pavel Blazek stepped down on May 30 following criticism. While he maintained he had done nothing wrong, he said he resigned to avoid further harm to the government’s reputation ahead of the upcoming October election.

Following Blazek’s resignation, President Petr Pavel appointed Eva Decroix as the new Minister of Justice. Decroix promised to support an independent investigation and said the ministry would cooperate in uncovering what happened during the sale.

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Recently, Texas Representative Brandon Gill faced backlash for failing to report two Bitcoin purchases as required by the federal STOCK Act. How did that happen? Read the full story.

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Czech Minister Steps Down, Opposition Calls for Govt to Resign Over $46M in BTC ‘Donated’ from Convicted Criminal https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-minister-steps-down-opposition-calls-for-govt-to-resign-over-46m-in-btc-donated-from-convicted-criminal/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-minister-steps-down-opposition-calls-for-govt-to-resign-over-46m-in-btc-donated-from-convicted-criminal/#respond Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:37:39 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/czech-minister-steps-down-opposition-calls-for-govt-to-resign-over-46m-in-btc-donated-from-convicted-criminal/

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Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served…

Last updated:

June 1, 2025

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The Czech Republic has been shaken by a Bitcoin scandal. On Friday, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned, with the opposition set to demand the resignation of the coalition government this week as well.

The situation caught on fire at the end of last week after Blažek, a conservative politician, accepted a large donation in BTC and sold it for about $45.8 million in March, the AP reported. The opposition has raised concerns over the source of the donation.

Blažek received the coins from Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal. Jirikovsky operated the Sheep Marketplace. In 2017, he went to prison for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal trading of weapons.

Jirikovsky’s lawyer reportedly approached Blažek in March 2025, saying his client would donate 30% of his BTC stash to the ministry. Police had confiscated the wallet containing this BTC and returned it to Jirikovsky after his release in 2021.

Blažek did not check the coins’ origin. “I have no way to investigate the matter, and I wasn’t interested so many years after the case,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. Jirikovsky probably wanted “to repent” through the donation, he said.

He also claimed that courts had not proven that the BTC came from criminal activity.

However, the opposition parties argue that it’s unclear why Jirikovsky gave the coins to the ministry or where the coins came from. They accused Blažek of potential money laundering.

Furthermore, they argue that the state shouldn’t use the money until these points are clear.

Meanwhile, the High Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc is investigating the case on suspicion of abuse of official authority and laundering of proceeds of crime.

Blažek denied knowledge of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, he said he resigned so not to harm the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The PM said he believed that Blažek acted with goodwill.

Czech Coalition Government in Danger?

Today, Brno Daily reported that the lower house will hold an urgent session on Thursday. The opposition parties will use the occasion to demand the resignation of the coalition government, the deputy leaders of the ANO and SPD parties, Karel Havlicek and Radim Fiala, said on Sunday.

“We will want the government to find sufficient self-reflection and resign,” Havlicek said. The current cabinet could stay until the parliamentary elections in October, but it shouldn’t have the power to make major decisions.

If the coalition government doesn’t resign,

“We are very strongly considering calling a no-confidence vote in the government.”

Fiala, deputy leader of the far-right SPD, said that his party “will support an extraordinary session” and a vote of no confidence in the government.

However, lower house speaker Jan Skopecek said the opposition’s plans are just “theatre” in the campaign ahead of the elections. He added that Blažek has already resigned, so there is no reason for the cabinet to do so as well.

Moreover, Czech Fiscal Council chair Mojmir Hampl argued that this case raises numerous key technical questions. However, these will not be answered in the pre-election stage.

Meanwhile, Le Monde reported that Jirikovsky had been trying to recover about 1,500 BTC, seized by the police, since his imprisonment. During the trial, the court suspected that the coins came from Nucleus. This is a dark web marketplace that, the report claims, shut down the day after Jirikovsky’s arrest.

Furthermore, BTC market monitors noted that a portion of the Nucleus-linked BTC, dormant since 2016, moved to new wallets in March. This is after Blažek signed the agreement, reports claim.

Jirikovsky claimed that he got to keep the BTC because he had obtained it legally. Blažek claimed he hadn’t made any promises in return for the donation.

All these allegations will likely be brought up during the Thursday emergency session.

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