Bitcoin Programmer's Lawyer Was Paid Millions — But Even Wiretaps Can't Pin Down How Much

New details have emerged about the financial relationship between programmer Tomáš Jiřikovský and his lawyer Karim Tic in the high-profile Czech "bitcoin case" that cost former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek his job. According to the 420-page indictment prepared by the state prosecutor, the exact size of the lawyer's fee remains unclear — intercepted phone calls mention wildly different figures, ranging from tens of millions of crowns to a full billion.

In one phone call, Jiřikovský's sister tries to reassure their mother, who is worried the lawyer might drop the case: "Mom, that's not how it works for a billion — he got a third, otherwise no one would have done it." In another intercepted conversation, Jiřikovský himself tells relatives that under the law Tic is entitled to a percentage of two billion crowns, and "at the moment that comes to more than forty million."

What the defendants are accused of

According to investigators, Tic devised a scheme to legalize the cryptocurrency that Jiřikovský had earned, police say, through illegal transactions — including drug sales — via the darknet marketplace Nucleus Market. Part of the plan involved Jiřikovský donating the bitcoins to the state: once the Ministry of Justice accepted them, it would create the impression that the money had no connection to criminal activity.

In the end, the programmer donated bitcoins worth about 960 million crowns to the ministry, which, according to the agreement, amounted to roughly 30% of the total sum. Exactly how he planned to handle the remaining two-thirds — around two billion crowns — is still not entirely clear.

The state prosecutor is seeking a 20-year prison sentence and asset forfeiture for Jiřikovský for running the illegal marketplace, plus another 9 years for money laundering. For lawyer Tic, the prosecution is requesting 8 years in prison, while former minister Blažek and his ex-deputy Radomír Daňhel each face a proposed 6.5-year sentence.

Cryptocurrency schemes and a three-million-crown Maybach

According to the prosecution, between March and April of last year Tic received at least 40 bitcoins and 477 ether from Jiřikovský into his crypto wallet, and altogether acquired 82.7 million crowns through criminal activity. He attempted to invest part of the funds through the No Free Lunch Fund Limited in Gibraltar, but the fund flagged the cryptocurrency as top-risk after tracing its origin to the Nucleus Market darknet platform.

Following that setback, investigators say, Tic converted the bitcoins into ether in several stages to make it harder to trace the funds' origin — a move that partly succeeded, as a subsequent check downgraded the risk rating to medium.

Investigators also determined that earlier this year the lawyer bought a new Mercedes-AMG Maybach SL 680 for three million crowns, which he then transferred into his wife's name, along with a payment of 3,187,981 crowns into her account. Police have seized part of Tic's assets — two properties, more than 1.19 million crowns held in two bank accounts, and 8.9 bitcoin — which the prosecution considers proceeds of crime. The Olomouc Regional Court rejected the lawyer's appeal against the asset freeze.

During questioning, Tic himself stated that he does not admit guilt and considers himself innocent, adding that some of the charges relate to legal services he provided to Jiřikovský, which are protected by attorney-client privilege. His wife told reporters that her husband has no intention of speaking to the press, as he does not trust journalists.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz