Bitcoin Case: Prosecution Seeks 29 Years for Programmer, Former Minister Faces 6.5 Years

Czech state prosecutors have completed the indictment in the high-profile "bitcoin case" implicating former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek of the ODS party. The prosecutor is seeking 29 years in prison for programmer Tomáš Jiřikovský, who once owned bitcoins worth billions of crowns, while former Minister Blažek and his former deputy Radomír Daňhel each face 6.5 years in prison for aiding in the legalization of proceeds from crime.

At the heart of the scandal is a donation of 468 bitcoins made to the Ministry of Justice under Blažek's leadership — worth roughly 960 million crowns at the time of the transaction last March. The donation came from programmer Jiřikovský, who had previously been sentenced to nine years in prison for running a darknet marketplace that primarily sold drugs.

What Investigators Found

According to police, computers seized from Jiřikovský contained a bitcoin wallet whose origins were linked to criminal activity. In total, 1,561 bitcoins were found in the wallets — what happened to the rest of the sum remains unclear. The indictment, prepared by prosecutor Lucie Slámová, runs 420 pages. Jiřikovský is charged with organizing the Nucleus Market darknet platform and subsequently laundering the proceeds. His then-lawyer, Karim Titz, who investigators say helped legalize the bitcoins, faces eight years in prison.

The most substantial evidence, reportedly, has been gathered against Jiřikovský: police received around two dozen case files from foreign partners confirming that residents of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States bought drugs through the darknet marketplace, which helped establish the underlying crime.

Wiretapped Relatives and Millions Found in Cash

After the bitcoins were transferred to the ministry, police began wiretapping not only Jiřikovský himself but also the homes and vehicles of his relatives. It emerged that his closest family members knew about the transfers: tens of millions of crowns passed through the accounts of his brother Lukáš, who, according to case materials, had had no steady job or business activity since 2007. More than 33 million crowns in cash — an estimated 22.7 kilograms of banknotes, according to police calculations — were found at the programmer's parents' home.

Charges against other family members cannot be ruled out at a later stage, although none have been filed so far. The wiretaps also showed that relatives did not anticipate new charges against Jiřikovský and largely relied on his lawyer, Karim Titz.

Gaps in the Indictment

It remains unclear whether police wiretapped other figures in the case. While Blažek held the ministerial post, the investigative team likely could not tap his phones — following the unwritten rule that "ministers are not wiretapped." However, after his resignation in early June last year, that possibility may have opened up.

Blažek himself has reportedly stated on social media that investigators have produced no evidence of any behind-the-scenes deal or personal gain on his part — and formally, this indeed is not reflected in the indictment. The unclear motives of the former minister and his deputy are cited as one of the case's biggest "blank spots": it remains an open question whether they personally profited, and why they would have gone to such lengths to facilitate the deal if, as they claim, they gained nothing from it.

Read also: Transferring money from Czechia abroad: Wise, Revolut, bank

Source: seznamzpravy.cz