Czech coalition government faces a parliamentary no-confidence vote over bitcoin scandal

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PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech coalition government on Tuesday faced a parliamentary no-confidence vote over a bitcoin-related scandal.

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.