Czech president appoints a new justice minister amid a bitcoin scandal

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Czech President Petr Pavel has sworn successful a caller justness curate amid a governmental situation caused by a bitcoin-related scandal

PRAGUE -- Czech President Petr Pavel swore successful a caller justness curate connected Tuesday, different measurement successful a governmental situation caused by a bitcoin-related scandal.

Pavel appointed Eva Decroix aft her predecessor Pavel Blažek resigned from the station connected May 30. He was nether occurrence from the absorption due to the fact that his ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for astir 1 cardinal Czech koruna ($46 million) earlier this year.

Blažek said that helium wasn’t alert of immoderate wrongdoing, but didn’t privation the four-party conjugation authorities led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala to beryllium harmed by the scandal. Fiala said that helium appreciated his resignation and believed that Blažek acted with goodwill.

Blažek was a adjacent state of Fiala successful the authorities and besides successful his blimpish Civic Democratic Party. The caller curate is from the aforesaid party.

Decroix said she volition bid an autarkic probe into the ministry’s activities successful the case.

“The nationalist spot successful the institutions and the authorities is astatine stake,” Pavel said.

The contented focused connected the information that the bitcoins were donated to the ministry by a idiosyncratic who was antecedently convicted of cause dealing and different crimes portion it was not wide wherefore helium did it.

The absorption has accused Blažek of imaginable wealth laundering, due to the fact that it wasn’t wide wherever the bitcoins originated.

The absorption parties request the resignation of the full authorities and are readying to petition a parliamentary no-confidence vote. It could instrumentality spot aboriginal successful June.

The contented has been investigated by the nationalist police's organized transgression unit.

The ungraded is taking spot conscionable months earlier the Oct 3-4 parliamentary election. The main absorption ANO (YES) enactment led by erstwhile populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is predicted to triumph the vote.