Czech government survives no-confidence vote over bitcoin scandal
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Czech government survives no-confidence vote over bitcoin scandal
98 out of 192 MPs present voted against opposition motion to topple government. By contrast, 94 MPs voted to bring down the government. PM Petr Fiala’s government has survived four votes of no confidence since it took power in 2021. Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned last month after accepting a €40 million bitcoin donation from a convicted drug dealer. He claims everything he did was “ultra-legal” and that Jiřikovský had donated money as “a form of penance”
The Czech government on Wednesday survived a no-confidence vote triggered by a bitcoin scandal involving a drug dealer that has thrown the country’s politics into turmoil.
Some 98 out of 192 MPs present voted against an opposition motion to topple Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government — which could have triggered a snap ballot just four months before the country is scheduled to vote in regular elections. By contrast, 94 MPs voted to bring down the government.
The no-confidence motion followed a scandal that saw Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek from Fiala’s conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) resign last month after accepting a €40 million bitcoin donation to the ministry from a convicted drug dealer.
The cryptocurrency was provided by Tomáš Jiřikovský, who according to the courts ran an illegal darknet market that had drugs for sale, and who had served time in prison for embezzlement, drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons. Czech newspaper Deník N broke the news last week that police are investigating the donation.
Blažek, whose embroilment in multiple scandals from pressuring judges to meeting a pro-Russian lobbyist earned him the moniker Don Pablo — a play on deceased Colombian drugs baron Pablo Escobar — claims everything he did was “ultra-legal” and that Jiřikovský had donated money as “a form of penance.”
The bitcoin affair is likely to further boost the election prospects of the current populist frontrunner Andrej Babiš, leader of the opposition ANO party, who previously governed Czechia from 2017 to 2021.
Recent polling shows ANO leading with 31.2 percent support while the governing Spolu (Together) coalition — of which ODS is a part — trails with 21.6 percent.
Babiš has called the ODS “a criminal organization” and termed Fiala “the head of the mafia.”
Eva Decroix, who has taken over as the new Czech justice minister, said her task will be to restore public trust in the ministry and to ensure the bitcoin scandal is thoroughly investigated.
For the government to be overthrown, at least 101 MPs in the 200-seat lower house of parliament would be required to support the motion. The government has a fragile majority of 104 MPs.
Fiala’s government has survived four votes of no confidence since it took power in 2021.
Czech government survives no-confidence vote following Bitcoin donation scandal
The motion, led by the opposition ANO party, secured 94 votes, falling seven short of the 101 needed to unseat the government. The vote was supported by ANO, the SPD, and the Pirate Party. The controversy centres on a Bitcoin donation to the Ministry of Justice, reportedly linked to a convicted drug dealer.
The motion, led by the opposition ANO party, secured 94 votes—falling seven short of the 101 needed to unseat the government. The vote was supported by ANO, the SPD, and the Pirate Party.
The scandal centres on a billion-crown Bitcoin donation to the Ministry of Justice, reportedly linked to a convicted drug trafficker. The controversy led to the resignation of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek last month. Blazek denied any wrongdoing but acknowledged the donation had become an unnecessary issue. Prime Minister Fiala defended his government’s actions, saying Blazek had acted in good faith. However, ANO leader Andrej Babis accused the administration of failing to uphold moral authority and called for the resignation of Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura, claiming he played a key role in the Bitcoin case.
“This is about a system where the Minister of Justice feels untouchable. Prime Minister Fiala’s government has lost its moral authority,” Babis told parliament on Tuesday.
Fiala dismissed the criticism, maintaining his government’s stability and parliamentary support.
Czech coalition government survives no-confidence vote over bitcoin scandal
Only 94 opposition lawmakers in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament voted in favor of dismissing the four-party coalition. At least 101 votes were needed to oust the government at the end of a two-day debate. Justice Ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for almost 1 billion Czech koruna ($47 million) earlier this year. The scandal focuses on the fact that the bitcoins were donated to the ministry by a person who was previously convicted of drug dealing and other crimes, while it was not clear why he did it.
FILE – A bitcoin token is placed on a mirror for a photograph in Prague, Czech Republic, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE – A bitcoin token is placed on a mirror for a photograph in Prague, Czech Republic, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE – A bitcoin token is placed on a mirror for a photograph in Prague, Czech Republic, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
PRAGUE — The Czech government survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote called by the main opposition party on Wednesday over a bitcoin-related scandal.
Only 94 opposition lawmakers in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament voted in favor of dismissing the four-party coalition led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
At least 101 votes were needed to oust the government at the end of a two-day debate.
The main opposition centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist billionaire Andrej Babiš requested the vote after the Justice Ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for almost 1 billion Czech koruna ($47 million) earlier this year.
Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned from his post over the issue on May 30 and was replaced by Eva Decroix on June 10.
Blažek said he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing, but didn’t want the coalition to be harmed by the scandal. Fiala said he believed Blažek acted with goodwill.
Decroix said she will order an independent probe into the ministry’s activities in the case.
The scandal focuses on the fact that the bitcoins were donated to the ministry by a person who was previously convicted of drug dealing and other crimes, while it was not clear why he did it.
The opposition has accused Blažek of possible money laundering, because it wasn’t clear where the bitcoins originated, and demanded the resignation of the entire government. The issue is being investigated by the national police’s organized crime unit.
It was the fourth no-confidence motion since the government took over after a 2021 election.
The scandal comes just months before the Oct. 3-4 parliamentary election. Babiš and his movement are predicted to win the vote.
Czech government survives no-confidence motion over bitcoin scandal
The biggest opposition party, ANO, had filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government. The acceptance of a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin sparked controversy. The motion failed after two days of debate in the lower house, where the ruling coalition holds a majority.
The biggest opposition party, ANO, which leads opinion polls ahead of an October 3-4 election, had filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government, accusing it of helping the former cybercriminal legitimise his bitcoin holdings of potentially illegal origin.
The motion failed after two days of debate in the lower house, where Fiala’s ruling coalition led by his Civic Democrats Party, holds a majority.
Political veteran Pavel Blazek, from Fiala’s party, resigned as justice minister on May 31 for accepting the payment on behalf of the state, though he denied doing anything illegal.
Fiala has called accepting the gift a political and ethical mistake.
The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins to the state was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons for running an illegal drug market on the internet called Sheep Marketplace.
Blazek has faced criticism for possibly legitimising the ex-convict’s assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them.
The gift, Blazek has said, was agreed to be 30% of bitcoins found in a wallet on computers returned to the ex-convict by courts earlier this year.
It was not clear what was the ex-convict’s motivation to make the donation. REUTERS
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