The Czech Republic’s main opposition party has called for a no-confidence vote in the government on Thursday, accusing it of corruption over a $45 million Bitcoin payment from a convicted criminal.
Alena Schillerova, vice chair of the right-wing ANO party, said in a Thursday post to X that her party felt there was “no choice” but to submit the no-confidence motion, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Czech Justice Ministry said on May 28 it had sold nearly 500 Bitcoin (BTC) for 1 billion Czech koruna ($45 million) in an auction after receiving it from Tomas Jirikovsky, who ran an online black market and was convicted of embezzlement, drug trafficking and weapons violations in 2017.
Czech opposition wants probe on Bitcoin donation
In the days since the sale, ANO has called for an investigation into the conduct of the ministry and asked for information on who authorized the transaction.
Among the other demands are whether the origin of the Bitcoin was “legally vetted” before the sale, according to a Thursday post from ANO.
The party also alleged the winners of the Bitcoin auction “are demanding their funds back” and want to know “from what sources the damage will be compensated.”
Justice minister resigns over scandal
Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blazek resigned on May 30 after facing mounting pressure, but denied any wrongdoing and said his decision to leave was about protecting the government’s reputation in the lead up to the election in October.
On Tuesday, Czech President Petr Pavel swore in Eva Decroix as the new justice minister, who promised to order an independent probe into the ministry’s actions.
She has since said that the Ministry of Justice, under her leadership, would “provide cooperation in the investigation of the donation case.”
Other world leaders under fire over crypto dealings
Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has also faced scrutiny over his X post endorsing the Libertad project’s native Solana token, Libra (LIBRA), which rallied to a market capitalization of $4.56 billion on Feb. 14.
Related: Czech president signs ‘landmark’ crypto bill: CKMA
It fell by over 94% after he deleted his post, prompting accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme. Argentina’s anti-corruption office has cleared Milei of any wrongdoing and said in a June 5 resolution that Milei was acting in a personal capacity when he endorsed the token and did not violate federal ethics laws for public officials.
US President Donald Trump has also been scrutinized by the country’s opposing Democratic Party over his crypto dealings.
On May 7, Democrat lawmakers launched a multi-prong attack on Trump’s crypto ventures with two bills and a subcommittee inquiry aimed at cutting his ability to profit from the initiatives.
Magazine: US risks being ‘front run’ on Bitcoin reserve by other nations: Samson Mow
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