The founder of a famous dark web marketplace has been arrested, and the former Czech Minister of Justice has resigned in connection with political donations.

Recently, the Czech police launched an operation and successfully arrested Tomáš Jiřikovský, a key figure suspected of being involved in the shocking $45 million Bitcoin political donation case.

As a criminal who once founded the famous dark web market "Sheep Marketplace," he was accused of donating 468 bitcoins as political contributions to former Czech Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek, worth approximately 45 million dollars at the time.

Details of the case show that Jirikovský contacted Blažek through his lawyer in March this year, promising to donate one-third of his Bitcoin assets. This large sum of money was subsequently publicly sold by the Czech Ministry of Justice, obtaining nearly 1 billion Czech crowns.

However, the investigation found that these Bitcoins were likely derived from illegal activities. Jirikovsky not only operated a dark web platform involved in drug and arms trading but was also suspected of stealing 840 Bitcoins from users. When the police raided his residence, they not only successfully captured him from the roof but also confiscated new Bitcoin wallets and tens of millions of dollars in cash.

The scandal directly led to Bružek's resignation on May 30, although he insisted that he was unaware of the source of the funds. He claimed he had no authority to investigate the matter, and that the incident occurred many years ago and had nothing to do with him. However, faced with ongoing pressure from the opposition and the public, as well as questions about why the Justice Department accepted donations from a known criminal without conducting basic checks.

The case is currently being investigated by the Czech National Center for Combating Organized Crime, involving multiple charges of money laundering and drug offenses. Notably, this donation is also linked to another dark web market "Nucleus", further complicating the case.

As the investigation deepens, this case may not only reveal more hidden connections between political and business figures and dark web crimes, but it is also expected to have a lasting impact on the political ecology of the Czech Republic.

In summary, this case exposes the regulatory blind spots of cryptocurrency in political donations and demonstrates the astonishing pathways through which dark web criminal funds penetrate mainstream political systems. As the investigation deepens, this case may also become a touchstone for testing the independence of the Czech judiciary and its determination to fight corruption.

#捷克比特币案 # dark web political donations