Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe Czech opposition has called a no-confidence vote over a $45 million bitcoin payment scandal, challenging the ruling coalition ahead of elections.
PRAGUE (Reuters) -The main Czech opposition party on Thursday called a no-confidence vote in the government, accusing it of corruption over the acceptance of a payment to the state by an ex-convict worth $45 million in bitcoin.
The vote, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, is likely to fail as the government has a majority in parliament - but it could still dent the ruling centre-right coalition's chances in an October 3-4 election in which it trails the opposition.
Political veteran Pavel Blazek resigned as justice minister on May 31 for accepting the payment for the state, though he denied doing anything illegal.
Opposition groups including the ANO party led by former prime minister Andrej Babis have called on Prime Minister Petr Fiala to quit and said the payment was evidence of corruption.
"We have no choice," ANO vice-chair Alena Schillerova said on X after filing the no-confidence motion.
The man who made the donation of 468 bitcoins to the state was in jail from 2017 until 2021 after being convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons.
Blazek has faced criticism for possibly legitimising the ex-convict's assets, instead of turning to prosecutors or police to help secure them.
Opinion polls show Babis's ANO party with a clear lead over the main group in the government coalition led by Fiala's ODS party.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
The main Czech opposition party accused the government of corruption over the acceptance of a payment made by an ex-convict, leading to the call for a no-confidence vote.
Pavel Blazek is the former justice minister who resigned after accepting a payment for the state. He faced criticism for possibly legitimizing the ex-convict's assets.
The payment involved a donation of 468 bitcoins made by an ex-convict who had previously been jailed for drug trade, fraud, and illegal possession of weapons.
Opinion polls indicate that the ANO party, led by former prime minister Andrej Babis, has a clear lead over the ruling coalition led by Petr Fiala's ODS party.
The no-confidence vote is scheduled for Tuesday, although it is likely to fail due to the government's majority in parliament.
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