Investigation of 2025 Czech government Bitcoin scandal comprises a series of political, legal, and media events following the replacement of Pavel Blažek by Eva Decroix as Minister of Justice in June 2025. This personnel change was precipitated by the outbreak of the so-called Bitcoin scandal.
A central component of the inquiry involved determining the whereabouts of the donor, Jiřikovský, who had fled the Czech Republic. While journalist identified the Philippines as his place of residence, officers from the Security Information Service (BIS) later established that Jiřikovský was residing in Taiwan. During his stay abroad, the initiated an investigation into Jiřikovský's legal counsel, Kárim Titz, to determine whether he had violated Act No. 253/2008 Coll. (the Anti-Money Laundering Act) while representing his client during the transfer of the gift. The investigation was overseen by the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc and a parliamentary commission tasked with monitoring the activities of the (FAÚ).
Upon taking office, Decroix established four mechanisms designed to clarify the events preceding the acceptance of the donation. The first element was timeline, which underwent two rounds of updates in an anonymized format. As a second oversight measure, Decroix appointed attorney as the "Bitcoin Case Coordinator." Uhlíř's mandate was to ascertain whether all internal ministerial regulations had been observed prior to the gift's acceptance. This role was functionally linked to the third measure: an audit report. The audit focused on potential legislative amendments regarding future cryptocurrency donations to the state and evaluated whether the participants in the transfer could have reasonably suspected the illicit origin of the coins. The fourth mechanism involved the engagement of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ), which Decroix approached in July 2025.
The transparency mechanisms introduced by Decroix faced widespread criticism. Journalists, legal experts, opposition politicians, law enforcement agencies, and the general public all characterized the minister's approach as detrimental. Primary concerns included the high financial costs of a parallel ministerial inquiry, the potential for public proceedings to compromise the legally binding criminal investigation, and Decroix's perceived partisan bias in managing the ministry's internal probe.
Media coverage focused on both the official criminal proceedings and the ministry's internal inquiry. Reports highlighted a lack of transparency in Decroix's communication regarding the chosen oversight mechanisms, noting that their objectives shifted over time and failed to achieve their original purpose. This failure, combined with potential overreach of authority and inconsistent communication, triggered backlash from the political opposition and law enforcement. The media also pointed to unresolved personnel issues that the oversight mechanisms failed to address. Furthermore, reports surfaced regarding ineffective communication between criminal investigators and those conducting the ministerial probe. The resulting "noise" and procedural friction eventually led the Prosecutor General, Lenka Bradáčová, to exercise supervisory jurisdiction over the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc.
According to High Public Prosecutor , the scope of potential legal violations expanded following Jiřikovský's apprehension in August 2025. This expansion of legal liability was further underscored by Decroix's public remarks, in which she characterized court rulings regarding the return of seized electronics as unlawful. However, the broadening of the case to include other stakeholders was constrained by the head of the BIS, Michal Koudelka, who stated that the case was not instigated by foreign power.
Stay in Taiwan On 5 June 2025, the news outlet Neovlivni.cz reported that Jiřikovský had departed for Asia. His travel was legally permissible at the time as no formal charges had been brought against him. It was subsequently established that he was staying in Taiwan with his Filipino wife; he was reportedly scheduled to return to the Czech Republic in the latter half of June.
The Czech Bar Association (ČAK) initiated an inquiry into whether Kárim Titz, the attorney representing Jiřikovský, violated anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Under the Czech AML Act, legal counsel is required to verify the provenance of assets during suspicious transactions. The relevant legislation, Act No. 253/2008 Coll., on Certain Measures against the Legalization of Proceeds from Crime and Financing of Terrorism, governs the operations of the Financial Analytical Office (FAÚ). It defines the "obligated person" subject to reporting requirements, a category that includes practicing attorneys.
Prosecutorial oversight and investigation The case is being overseen by the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc, which has identified potential criminal activity involving the abuse of power by a public official, the laundering of proceeds of crime, and the illicit manufacture and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Officers from the National Organized Crime Agency (NCOZ) have requested the cooperation of the American FBI to jointly investigate Jiřikovský's alleged links to the darknet marketplace Nucleus Market. On 11 June 2025, members of the parliamentary committee overseeing the Financial Analytical Office (FAÚ) deliberated on the matter and concluded that the office had acted correctly and in accordance with the law.
No foreign involvement in case, according to BIS During a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies' Committee on Security on 12 June 2025, Michal Koudelka, the Director of the Security Information Service (BIS), assured MPs that the case had not been initiated or orchestrated by foreign powers. On the same day, detectives from the National Centre for Combating Organised Crime (NCOZ) seized documents related to the "Bitcoin case" at the Ministries of Justice and Finance. The newly appointed Minister of Justice, Eva Decroix (ODS), expressed her full cooperation with the investigation and announced plans to present timeline of events to the government within a week. Pavel Žáček (ODS), Chairman of the Committee on Security, stated that investigators would need to engage in international cooperation.
Ministry negotiations with coin buyers and Decroix’s legality challenge On 17 June 2025, the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Eva Decroix, announced that the Ministry of Justice had liquidated a majority (235) of the 468 donated bitcoins, while expressing an intent to cancel a portion of remaining transactions. The Ministry stated it is in communication with the buyers and has initiated negotiations with the law firm representing the primary purchaser (see legal representative Kirill Juran).
Simultaneously, the Minister disclosed that she is finalizing a "complaint for violation of the law" (in Czech "stížnost pro porušení zákona") regarding the Regional Court in Brno's decision to return seized electronics to Jiřikovský. Decroix asserted that the court's ruling may have been unlawful, alleging a failure to respect the binding legal opinion of the Supreme Court. However, she noted that the contested decision is now irreversible.
Deputy Přibyl's non-participation in the donation acceptance Daniel Přibyl, a deputy at the Office for Government Representation in Property Affairs (), received a formal disciplinary warning regarding his attempt to participate in the opening of Bitcoin wallet. Ultimately, Přibyl faced only indirect financial sanctions; he was denied personal bonuses for the second quarter of 2025, which for his colleagues ranged between 46,000 and 126,000 CZK. The Director General of the ÚZSVM, Kateřina Arajmu, confirmed that the office’s role was limited to providing a Bitcoin wallet for the transfer of the donation. Despite being mentioned twice in the initial version of the event timeline, Arajmu stated that Přibyl did not act outside the scope of his official authority.
Timeline as part of the investigation
On 18 June 2025, the Ministry of Justice released the promised timeline, though the document was anonymized. Although MP Eva Decroix had originally intended to include the names of individual actors, representatives of the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Olomouc advised against de-anonymization, citing potential risks to the ongoing investigation. Decroix initially planned to publish a supplemented timeline on 15 August 2025, but was on leave during that period. Consequently, the updated timeline was released one week later.
The second, expanded version was more than twice the length of the original but remained fully anonymized. Decroix stated that disclosing names would not improve public understanding of the case. Journalistic analysis of the extended timeline revealed that the Ministry of Justice continued to auction proceeds from criminal activity, or proportional parts thereof, during the investigation. Despite these findings, Decroix maintained that the additions to the timeline did not alter the legal assessment of the matter.
Audit as part of the investigation Decroix clarified that if no private firm applied to conduct the audit, a form of internal audit would be necessary. Ultimately, no private entities officially applied for the tender. In July 2025, Decroix secured an auditor for the case: a consortium comprising the firms Grant Thornton Czech Republic and Grant Thornton Audit. The Czech state, via taxpayer funds, paid 3.57 million CZK (including VAT) for the service.
The auditors concluded that the Ministry of Justice should not have accepted the Bitcoin donation, as it was aware beforehand that the assets might have originated from criminal proceeds. In their external report, the auditors criticized the ministry for failing to take necessary steps to rule out the illegality of the donated funds. The report stated: "There is a risk that the acceptance of the donation, its subsequent handling, and its eventual sale through public auction may have fulfilled the elements of certain criminal offenses."
Following a meeting of the STAN leadership, Decroix—who attended the session—was given an ultimatum to release the full audit by the end of August 2025. Decroix convened a press conference on Friday, 8 August 2025, to clarify the role of Uhlíř at the ministry. After the conference, during which Decroix stated she had no new information to share, STAN chairman Vít Rakušan set a condition for any future coalition between STAN and Spolu: that the Ministry of Justice must be led by a minister from the Mayors and Independents.
The second part of the audit summary revealed that the state should amend laws to better define "at-risk assets" and regulate the legislative process for accepting cryptocurrencies as donations. This summary also confirmed that Blažek proceeded with cryptocurrency auctions despite being aware of their origins.
Although STAN cabinet members demanded the public release of the full report, Decroix had not published the complete contents by 1 September 2025. Chief Prosecutor Dragoun requested that Decroix refrain from releasing the full text at that time, arguing that publication could compromise ongoing witness testimony. The failure to publish the audit constituted a breach of the condition set by STAN leadership in early August 2025.
Investigation by the coordinator and its abrupt conclusion