A major scandal is rocking the Czech Republic after the government’s Justice Minister received over $45,000 in a dark web Bitcoin transaction.
Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has already resigned, but an election is coming up soon. Political opponents are lambasting the scandal, potentially signaling hostile new crypto policies.
Government Official Receiving Bitcoin on the Dark Web
Over the last few months, the Czech Republic’s government has had a friendly attitude towards Bitcoin policy, with the National Bank considering a $7.3 billion purchase this year.
However, disturbing new allegations claim that this government had another Bitcoin entanglement. A cabinet member apparently received a massive payment sourced from the dark web.
Specifically, Tomáš Jiřikovský, a convicted dark web drug vendor, allegedly gave Justice Minister Pavel Blažek over $45,000 in Bitcoin.
Jiřikovský is apparently not an active criminal. His drug marketplace was the largest in 2013, but he was convicted in 2017 and released from prison four years later. Nonetheless, he still has access to substantial amounts of crypto.
Blažek has already resigned over this dark web Bitcoin scandal, but the Czech government may not avoid the scandal.
Czech Justice Minister Resigns. Source: X/Pavel Blazek
Meanwhile, the country’s next parliamentary election will take place in four months, and some news outlets are alleging that the President and Prime Minister were complicit in the transaction.
Political opponents are already taking advantage of the incident:
“Are you kidding people, Prime Minister? You used to launder drug money! Finance Minister Stanjura, who was supposed to end up with Blažek, must have known about it, and you must have known about it too. And if you didn’t know about it, you’re useless and should end up [resigning too],” claimed Andrej Babiš, the current opposition leader.
Decade-old dark web Bitcoin transfers often make headlines, even in 2025, but this is usually because of massive whale activity. This Czech scandal, on the other hand, is relevant because of its electoral implications.
Andrej Babiš isn’t a committed supporter or opponent of crypto at the moment. This could change if a Bitcoin scandal ends up pushing him into power.
All that is to say, $45,000 may be a small amount for a dark web Bitcoin transaction, but it might reverberate all the same. This Czech government has shown a greater appetite for crypto-friendly policies than other EU states, considering plans that the ECB rejected.
What if this scandal gets lumped together with these previous actions? Will it tarnish the industry’s reputation in the whole country? If a new coalition takes power in October, it might do more than simply end the friendliness. It could engage in new crackdowns.
