Czech police have detained convicted drug trafficker Tomáš Jiřikovský, the man behind a multi-billion-dollar bitcoin donation to the country’s Ministry of Justice, escalating a scandal that has already led to the resignation of a cabinet minister.

What to know:

• Police detained Jiřikovský and secured evidence linked to a controversial bitcoin donation.
• The investigation is now focused on money laundering and drug trafficking.
• The Czech government survived a no-confidence vote in June over the $45 million donation.

The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the National Centre for the Fight Against Organised Crime (NCOZ) secured individuals and evidence. The case now also targets suspected money laundering and drug trafficking, separate from a wider investigation examining abuse of power.

Jiřikovský, who was previously convicted for running a darknet drug marketplace called Sheep Marketplace, was arrested in 2016 and spent four years of a nine-year prison sentence on charges of embezzlement and drug trafficking.

His arrest was part of a police raid on a Břeclav residence. This bitcoin donation case has created turmoil for Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s administration as the country approaches elections later this year. The government narrowly avoided a no-confidence motion filed by the ANO opposition party, which is currently leading in the polls.

Former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned in June after receiving 468 BTC as a donation, converted into approximately 1 billion Czech koruna (around $45 million). His successor, Eva Decroix, commissioned an independent audit from Grant Thornton, which concluded the Ministry should not have accepted the bitcoin, as it likely originated from criminal activities and could signify a criminal offense.