2 days ago
Czech constabulary person detained convicted cause trafficker Tomáš Jiřikovský, the antheral down a multi-billion-dollar bitcoin donation to the country’s Ministry of Justice, escalating a ungraded that has already claimed a furniture minister.
The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday that the National Centre for the Fight Against Organised Crime (NCOZ) intervened successful the case, securing individuals and evidence, according to a study by Czech quality website Echo24. The probe present targets suspected wealth laundering and amerciable cause handling, separated from a broader probe that besides examined maltreatment of power.
Jiřikovský was convicted and served a situation condemnation for moving a darknet cause marketplace called Sheep Marketplace. He was arrested successful 2016 and subsequently convicted of embezzlement and cause trafficking, serving 4 years of a nine-year situation sentence.
The apprehension was the effect of a raid by constabulary connected a location successful Břeclav wherever Jiřikovský was staying.
The bitcoin donation lawsuit rocked Prime Minister Petr Fiala's medication lone months earlier the country's predetermination laster this year.
The authorities survived a ballot of nary confidence filed by absorption enactment ANO, which leads the polls astatine contiguous up of October's vote.
Former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned successful June implicit the affair, having accepted the donation of 468 BTC, which was sold for astir 1 cardinal Czech koruna, worthy astir $45 million.
His successor, Eva Decroix, commissioning an autarkic audit from Grant Thornton. Released successful precocious July, the audit concluded the ministry should not person accepted the bitcoin, informing it apt originated from transgression proceeds and could represent a transgression offense.
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