Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party withstood a fourth attempt to topple their government in three years — this time with opposition parties uniting against them over a $45 million Bitcoin scandal.
The scandal centers around a 1 billion Czech koruna ($45 million) Bitcoin (BTC) donation made to the Ministry of Justice on May 27 by Tomáš Jiřikovský, a man previously convicted of drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and embezzlement.
The no-confidence motion brought by Czech opposition parties ANO, SPD and the Pirates received only 94 votes, seven shy of the 101 needed to pass. The vote came after more than 24 hours of debate in Parliament, according to a report from České Noviny on Monday.
No-confidence votes are made when a person or opposition party believes the current leadership is no longer able to govern effectively.
While Fiala’s party survived the no-confidence vote, the controversy adds to growing concerns over how government officials are getting involved in crypto-related activities that may be conflicting with their duties.
Recent controversies include US President Donald Trump’s profiting from his long list of crypto ventures and Argentine President Javier Milei’s involvement in the Libra token scandal.
Czech PM admits mistakes were made
Fiala said the $45 million Bitcoin donation could have been prevented and acknowledged that the incident has shaken up public confidence in his party.
The Civic Democratic Party will “take responsibility for ethical misconduct,” Fiala said in a Czech-English translated statement from České Noviny’s report.
However, he accused the opposition parties of using the debate to “throw dirt, insults and lies” at his party in a post on X on Wednesday.
Máme za sebou další hlasování o nedůvěře vládě. Dopadlo podle očekávání a vláda hlasování ustála.
Opozice schůzi využila jako vždy – k házení špíny, k urážkám a ke lžím. Od Andreje Babiše jsme se zároveň dozvěděli, že vlastně žádné informace nechce a žádný audit ho nezajímá. V… pic.twitter.com/ogUqhLeizZ
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) June 18, 2025
The other three no-confidence votes against the Civic Democratic Party spanned between September 2022 and October 2023, concerning issues related to energy, inflation and spying.
Newly appointed justice minister to probe the Bitcoin donation
The incident led to former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek’s resignation on May 30, while Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura is also facing pressure to resign amid claims that he knew of the donation.
On June 10, Czech President Petr Pavel swore in Eva Decroix as the new minister of justice, who promised to order an independent probe into the ministry’s actions.
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She has since said that the Ministry of Justice, under her leadership, would “provide cooperation in the investigation of the donation case.”
Details of the controversial Bitcoin donation
Jiřikovský offered the Ministry of Justice around a third of his crypto wallet — 1,561 Bitcoin — as a donation, authorized by a court ruling that returned his previously seized devices.
However, Jiřikovský — who was sentenced in 2017 and released in 2021 — was also previously in control of another 3,855.15 Bitcoin tied to the illicit website Nucleus Market.
Tech expert Jiří Berger, who was in attendance when Jiřikovský opened the wallet with 1,561 Bitcoin, said that they cannot access the larger stash of 3,855.15 Bitcoin due to it being stored on older tech.
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