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The main opposition centrist ANO (YES) movement led by populist
billionaire Andrej Babiš requested the vote after the Justice
Ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for
almost 1 billion Czech koruna ($47 million) earlier this year.
The three opposition parties, including ANO, the anti-migrant
Freedom and Direct Democracy movement and the liberal Pirates
party, are unlikely to oust the four-party coalition government
led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which has a
majority in the lower house of Parliament.
Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned from his post over the
issue on May 30 and was replaced by Eva Decroix on June 10.
Blažek said he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing, but didn’t want
the coalition to be harmed by the scandal. Fiala said he
appreciated his resignation and believed Blažek acted with
goodwill.
Blažek was a close ally of Fiala in the government and also in
his conservative Civic Democratic Party. The new minister is
from the same party.
Decroix said she will order an independent probe into the
ministry’s activities in the case.
The scandal focues on the fact that the bitcoins were donated to
the ministry by a person who was previously convicted of drug
dealing and other crimes, while it was not clear why he did it.
The opposition has accused Blažek of possible money laundering,
because it wasn’t clear where the bitcoins originated, and
demanded the resignation of the entire government. The issue has
been investigated by the national police’s organized crime unit.
Czech lawmakers were debating the no-confidence motion, the
fourth since the government took over after a 2021 election,
with a vote expected late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The scandal comes just months before the Oct 3-4 parliamentary
election. Babiš is predicted to win the vote.
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