The High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc has charged Tomas Jirikovsky, former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek, his deputy Radomir Danhel, and lawyer Karim Titz in relation to the bitcoin affair revealed in 2025, according to a statement from High Prosecutor Radim Dragoun.
The case involved the donation of cryptocurrency of dubious origin, worth nearly CZK 1 billion, from previously convicted drug dealer Jirikovsky to the Justice Ministry. The prosecutor has proposed a sentence of 6.5 years in prison for Blazek.
The indictment was filed with the Regional Court in Brno, Dragoun told CTK yesterday.
The press release does not list the names of the defendants, but they are known from the previous accusations. Jirikovsky, the donor of the bitcoins, is in custody. The High Public Prosecutor’s Office had to file an indictment by 14 August or release Jirikovsky from custody. The other three are being prosecuted at liberty.
The accused individuals disagree with the indictment, saying it is not supported by the investigation.
The prosecutor is seeking a combined sentence of 20 years in prison and forfeiture of assets for Jirikovsky for operating the darknet marketplace Nucleus Market from 2014 to 2016, which hosted large-scale trade in narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as for laundering the proceeds from this criminal activity in 2015, amounting to approximately CZK 12 million. The sentence also takes into account his previous prison term, from which he was released on probation.
The prosecutor is proposing an additional nine-year prison sentence for Jirikovsky for money laundering, via a donation of CZK 960 million in bitcoins to the Ministry of Justice in March 2025, Dragoun wrote on the Olomouc High Prosecutor’s Office’s website.
The prosecutor is seeking 6.5 years in prison and fines of millions of crowns for ex-minister Blazek (formerly ODS), who resigned last year due to the scandal, and his former deputy Danhel. According to the indictment, they participated in the laundering of proceeds from criminal activity related to the darknet marketplace and the donation of bitcoins to the Ministry of Justice, thereby intentionally violating their duties as public officials. They have been charged with money laundering and abuse of office.
The prosecutor proposes a longer sentence for Jirikovsky’s lawyer Titz, who, according to the indictment, organised the money laundering linked to the breach of official duties. He has been charged with participation in the abuse of office and money laundering by organising the crime.
“Furthermore, this defendant is separately charged with having participated in the laundering of proceeds from criminal activity amounting to 40 bitcoins (approximately CZK 74 million) in March and April 2025,” Dragoun stated. The prosecutor is seeking an eight-year aggregate sentence for Titz, a fine of tens of millions of crowns and a ban on professional activities for eight years.
Titz denies any criminal activity and criticises the steps by the police and the public prosecutor’s office, which he considers to be expedient, his defence lawyer Lukas Trojan said in a statement provided to CTK. According to Titz, the investigation is not complete and the key expert reports on the origin of the bitcoins do not yet exist.
Blazek claimed that there is still no evidence that the cryptocurrency originated from criminal activity. “And the police’s claim that there was some kind of agreement among the defendants to engage in illegal activity was not proven either. Nor could it have been, since it is a fabrication and a lie,” Blazek wrote on social media.
Danhel also challenged the indictment. “I disagree with the indictment, which is not supported by the investigation or by related court decisions,” Danhel told CTK.
In March last year, Blazek accepted bitcoins worth nearly CZK 1 billion from Jirikovsky as a gift to the state. The donation of cryptocurrency raised questions regarding the origin of the assets, transparency and the ethics of the state accepting such a gift.
According to investigators, the donation was intended to launder additional bitcoins belonging to Jirikovsky. He acquired the cryptocurrency after his release from prison, where he had served nine years for operating an online marketplace for the sale of drugs. The Brno Regional Court returned most of the confiscated electronic devices to him last January, at the request of the Supreme Court. Due to encryption, experts were unable to determine what was stored on the devices.
