In brief
- The Czech government has survived a no-confidence vote following a Bitcoin donation scandal.
- Former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek accepted $45 million from a convicted darknet operator without verifying its origins.
- Amid the fallout, the opposition party leads in polls ahead of national elections in October.
On Wednesday, the Czech Republic’s ruling coalition narrowly avoided collapse following a high-profile Bitcoin scandal that triggered a no-confidence vote in parliament two weeks ago.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s center-right coalition secured 98 votes against the motion on Tuesday, outnumbering 94 members of parliament who voted to bring down the government, a video from the parliament’s Chamber of Deputies archive shows.
What began as a Bitcoin donation quietly transferred from a convicted darknet drug trafficker’s wallet to a justice minister blew up into a storm and triggered a resignation, a criminal investigation, and nearly toppled the Czech government.
The latest vote was held among 192 members of parliament present, marking the fourth no-confidence challenge since the incumbent coalition took power in 2021.
The vote “went as expected and the government survived,” an automated translation of a statement from Fiala on X reads. Fiala claimed the opposition “used the meeting as always – to throw dirt, insults, and lies.”
The political storm centered on former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, who accepted 468 Bitcoin, worth over $45 million at the time, from convicted darknet operator Tomas Jirikovsky. The Bitcoin in question had been previously confiscated and returned to Jirikovsky after a legal technicality.
Blazek’s justice department later sold the assets, allocating roughly 30% of the proceeds to the state. Critics argue that the move circumvented law enforcement, potentially allowing funds associated with oversight and illicit activity to be laundered.
To this, Fiala responded that he understood “concern in the public” over how the state “may have been abused” for legalizing income from criminal activities, according to a report from local media outlet Brno Daily at the time.
Blazek, a senior member of Fiala’s ODS party, stepped down on May 30 under mounting public and political pressure but maintained that he had done nothing illegal.
His replacement, Eva Decroix, was sworn in on June 10 and has since ordered an independent audit of the transaction. Decroix pledged transparency and cooperation with ongoing law enforcement investigations.
While the government emerged intact from the no-confidence vote, the scandal has amplified criticism from opposition parties, particularly the populist ANO party led by billionaire Andrej Babis. Party officials accused the Fiala government of eroding public trust and mismanaging crypto oversight.
Ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 3–4, ANO currently leads 32 to 20 against the Together (SPOLU) coalition, which includes Fiala’s ODS party, according to poll data.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.