Czech president appoints a new justice minister amid a bitcoin scandal

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PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Petr Pavel swore in a new justice minister on Tuesday, another step in a political crisis caused by a bitcoin-related scandal.

Pavel appointed Eva Decroix after her predecessor Pavel Blažek resigned from the post on May 30. He was under fire from the opposition because his ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for almost 1 billion Czech koruna ($46 million) earlier this year.

Blažek said that he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing, but didn’t want the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala to be harmed by the scandal. Fiala said that he appreciated his resignation and believed that 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 public trust in the institutions and the state is at stake,” Pavel said.

The issue focused 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.

The opposition parties demand the resignation of the entire government and are planning to request a parliamentary no-confidence vote. It could take place later in June.

The issue has been investigated by the national police's organized crime unit.

The scandal is taking place just months before the Oct 3-4 parliamentary election. The main opposition ANO (YES) party led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is predicted to win the vote.