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Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Tuesday defended his cabinet amid growing pressure over a scandal involving the Justice Ministry’s acceptance of a 1 billion Czech crown (nearly $46 million) bitcoin donation from a convicted criminal.
Fiala denied any criminal wrongdoing and announced the appointment of a new justice minister. Meanwhile, the opposition confirmed plans to call a no-confidence vote.
The bitcoin transaction prompted Justice Minister Pavel Blažek’s resignation last week and has triggered public outcry, an official investigation, and allegations of money laundering.
“I understand the public’s concerns that the state could have been misused to legalize criminal profits,” Fiala said in a statement published on the government’s website. “This suspicion must be thoroughly investigated and clarified.”
Fiala said he would convene the State Security Council to examine the possible misuse of the ministry in connection with international organized crime and assess how prepared the state is to counter cybercrime. He strongly rejected opposition claims that government officials knowingly helped criminals.
“This is a deliberate lie spread without any evidence. Don’t say it, don’t spread it, don’t lie. It’s not true,” the Prime Minister said.
He also announced that Eva Decroix, a Civic Democratic Party lawmaker and legal expert, would be sworn in as justice minister on June 10.
But opposition leaders say the scandal has gone too far. Andrej Babiš, chairman of the opposition ANO party and a former prime minister, called Fiala’s government “criminal” and said its continuation “harms the citizens of the Czech Republic and enables strange transactions.”
ANO, Babiš’s centrist-populist movement known for its tough-on-corruption rhetoric, is the largest opposition force in Parliament and has aligned with the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party to challenge the government.
“There is only one solution: the resignation of the government,” Babiš told lawmakers Tuesday.
He confirmed that ANO and SPD will demand the government’s resignation during an extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday. If that fails, they will initiate a formal no-confidence vote.
“The cage has fallen. There is no longer anything to defend,” ANO deputy chair Karel HavlĂÄŤek said, accusing officials of knowingly legitimizing money tied to dark web trade in heroin, weapons, and forged documents.
Fiala countered that he only learned of the donation after the contract was signed and the ministry’s bitcoin wallet opened. He said Blažek had informed him informally and assured him it was legal. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura reportedly raised concerns only afterward.
Fiala said he still believes Blažek acted in good faith. “He admitted a mistake and took political responsibility. That is how it should be,” he said.
The Prime Minister also dismissed speculation about other ministers’ involvement, noting the transaction involved multiple layers of bureaucracy and was not the isolated decision of a single official.
