Fnalysis.
Donation With a Rap Sheet
A convicted dark web kingpin donated $45 million in bitcoin to the Czech Justice Ministry that had prosecuted him, and prosecutors are now seeking 20 years in prison for him and 6.5 years for the minister who accepted the gift
Tomáš Jiřikovský, convicted in 2017 of embezzlement, drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession after running the dark web marketplaces Sheep Marketplace and Nucleus Market, was released from prison in 2021 and reclaimed the bitcoin that had been seized from him at his arrest. Since it had shot up massively in value by then, in March 2025 he donated 30% of that bitcoin, worth about 960 million Czech koruna, roughly $45 million, to his own country's Justice Ministry.
The Justice Minister at the time, Pavel Blažek, accepted the donation and ordered the bitcoin sold, until the source of the money came to light and he was forced to resign in May 2025, dragging the rest of the Czech government into the scandal. The case is still open in 2026: in August, prosecutors requested a combined 20 years in prison for Jiřikovský, for running the dark web marketplace and laundering money through the donation, plus another 6.5 years in prison for Blažek himself.
Source: Around Prague →A philanthropic donation, don't make me laugh!