Jiříkovský Wiretaps: "If I Talk, I'll Bring Down the Whole ODS"

Prosecutors have filed charges against programmer Tomáš Jiříkovský, his lawyer Karim Tic, former ODS Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, and his deputy Radomír Daňhel in the high-profile case involving bitcoins donated to the Czech Ministry of Justice. According to the 420-page indictment obtained by Seznam Zprávy, the case concerns 468 bitcoins worth 960 million crowns at the time of the donation.

A police wiretap recorded Jiříkovský himself saying: "If I talked, it would be a total disaster — I'd be hurting myself. I can't drag anyone else down with me, otherwise the whole ODS would collapse. They're not guilty of anything, I see no reason to sink them." Prosecutor Lucie Slámová cited these words in the indictment, noting that Jiříkovský, who has so far refused to testify, has already hinted he may be willing to cooperate with investigators.

What the defendants are accused of

The case has been dubbed "Philanthropist." Jiříkovský is accused of earning money through illegal drug trading on the darknet, while his lawyer Tic allegedly helped launder the proceeds. Prosecutors accuse former minister Blažek and his deputy Daňhel of complicity in money laundering, claiming they "abused the authority of the state and acted, at minimum, with indirect intent to secure an unlawful financial benefit for Jiříkovský."

Prosecutors are seeking harsh sentences: 20 years plus asset forfeiture for Jiříkovský over running the darknet platform, with an additional 9 years for money laundering; 8 years for lawyer Tic; and 6.5 years each for Blažek and Daňhel.

Where the bitcoins came from

Under the donation agreement Jiříkovský signed with Blažek's ministry, the bitcoins were said not to be linked to any criminal activity. According to the indictment, however, the coins actually originated from the darknet marketplace Nucleus Market, once one of the world's largest platforms for drug sales. A Japanese blockchain analysis study estimated that transactions processed through Nucleus Market's payment infrastructure totaled roughly 88.3 million dollars.

Investigators believe the scheme was devised by lawyer Tic: by having the state accept part of the "dirty" bitcoins, it would appear that all the remaining coins held by Jiříkovský had a legitimate origin, thereby removing legal risk. Prosecutors argue that Blažek and Daňhel failed to verify the cryptocurrency's origin or assess the legal risks of accepting the donation.

Former minister denies any conspiracy

Pavel Blažek insists there was no conspiracy whatsoever. "The police's claim of some conspiracy between the defendants has not been proven and could not be proven, because it is a lie. I am not accused of gaining any financial benefit — unlike the state, which gained considerable value on those accounts and is now prosecuting me for it," he said.

The indictment also cites testimony from Jiříkovský's ex-wife, who claims that after the scandal broke, her former husband told her that "Blažek got a good deal." Prosecutors, however, provide no documentary evidence to support this claim, and Blažek has repeatedly denied it.

Through his lawyer Radek Šmerda, Daňhel says he only learned of the bitcoins' link to the darknet marketplace after his own criminal prosecution began — more than a year after the donation was made, and even later than the police themselves found out.

The Finance Ministry warned in advance

Prosecutors consider a key piece of evidence against Blažek and Daňhel to be an opinion issued by the Ministry of Finance last February, which stated there was a high probability that the offered bitcoins represented undeclared income from Jiříkovský's criminal activity, and that signing the donation agreement could effectively launder the funds.

Daňhel's lawyer disputes this, saying the document only reached the Ministry of Justice after Blažek and Daňhel had already resigned and Eva Decroix had become minister. According to him, the actual warning — about reputational risk, not criminal liability — came only after criminal proceedings had already been opened against his client and Blažek.

Notably, unlike Jiříkovský, neither Blažek nor Daňhel were themselves subject to wiretapping — at least, no such recordings appear in the case file. Prosecutors declined to explain why police did not wiretap the former minister and his deputy.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz