Overview

• State prosecutors launched an official investigation into the ministry’s acceptance and sale of the bitcoins, focusing on the donor’s prior drug convictions.
• Pavel Blažek denied any wrongdoing and said he acted in good faith but stepped down to shield Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s coalition from political fallout.
• The bitcoin donation from a convicted drug dealer raised questions about the origin and intended purpose of the funds when it was accepted earlier this year.
• Blažek, a key ally in Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party, left without an immediate successor named for the Justice Ministry.
• The scandal breaks just months before the October 3–4 elections, where the opposition ANO party is leading polls and plans to pursue full state ownership of energy firm CEZ AS.