The Justice Ministry of the Czech Republic should have rejected a $45 million Bitcoin donation that sparked a major political scandal in the country, an external audit has found.
The digital currency donation, made by a convicted drug dealer, resulted in the resignation of its former head, Pavel Blažek, who still insists he didn’t do anything illegal.
Czech ministry should have declined the donation, auditors say
The justice ministry in Prague should not have accepted a billion Czech crowns in the form of a cryptocurrency donation, as it could have recognized the potential risks, according to an independent audit, partially made public by the department itself.
The government institution realized that the Bitcoin gift could have originated from illicit proceeds, concluded the authors from the global accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton, the national radio broadcaster Český rozhlas unveiled on Friday.
The auditors are convinced officials failed to take the necessary steps to eliminate the risks before accepting the donation, falling short of the principles of good governance.
Shrnutí první části auditu: pic.twitter.com/Pa98Wz63BQ
— Ministerstvo spravedlnosti ČR (@SpravedlnostCZ) July 31, 2025
“Prior to accepting the donation, the Ministry of Justice was aware of relevant circumstances indicating a significant risk that the donation could originate from the proceeds of criminal activity,” the global auditing firm stated in the summary, also quoted by Politico, highlighting:
“Under these circumstances, we believe that the Ministry of Justice should not have accepted the donation without taking further follow-up steps to eliminate this risk.”
Scandal stirs political controversy ahead of October vote
The crypto affair shook the Czech political establishment this year after it became known that the justice ministry had accepted 480 BTC from Tomáš Jiřikovský, a former darknet market operator and drug dealer who served time in prison.
The coins, worth around 1 billion Czech koruna at the time (approx. $45 million), were sold in a series of public auctions, organized by the ministry. As earlier reported by Cryptopolitan, Pavel Blažek was forced to quit his post amid fears the scandal may hurt the ruling coalition ahead of the upcoming elections this fall.
Opposition forces took advantage of Blažek’s short-sighted decision to accept the bitcoins and initiated a no-confidence vote in parliament, survived by the cabinet of Petr Fiala in June.
The minister, a member of Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS), was replaced by Eva Decroix, who pledged to investigate the case before the parliamentary election in October.
The promised probe includes Grant Thornton’s external audit, the second part of which should be released by the end of August.
Czech police and the country’s National Headquarters for Combating Organized Crime are also working to establish if the Bitcoin donation came from laundered money.
Ex justice minister maintains no wrongdoing on his part
Pavel Blažek, who stepped down to take political responsibility for the scandal, continues to claim he acted in good faith and within the law. Commenting on social media, he noted the audit doesn’t register a violation of any specific legal obligation or regulation.
Tzv. shrnutí první části auditu neuvádí porušení žádné konkrétní právní povinnosti či právního předpisu, což tvrdím od počátku “aféry”.Jinak jen opakuje různá rizika a spekulativní tvrzení, jež byla a jsou s darovací smlouvou spojena a už dlouho diskutována ve veřejném prostoru…
— Pavel Blažek (@blazek_p) July 31, 2025
In one of his recent posts on X, he stressed:
“There are new findings, just suitable text for article headlines, but with outdated content. Although repetition is said to be the mother of wisdom…”
In another tweet, he emphasized that “until a criminal court convicts the donor of a specific criminal activity directly related to the donated bitcoins, considerations about the invalidity of the donation contract are completely irrelevant.”
If the Czech state invalidates the donation contract, it will have to return the gift to the donor, Blažek elaborated, adding “this will conclude a 10-year period of incompetence … in which the state failed to gain anything at all from the possible (!) criminal activity of the donor.”
In early June, his colleague in the government, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, rejected opposition calls for his own resignation, refusing to share responsibility. Admitting he knew about Blažek’s intention to accept the crypto, he claimed he tried to convince him to refrain.
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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/audit-blames-czech-ministry-for-gift-scandal/