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The Czech Republic swore in a new justice minister on Tuesday following the resignation of the previous minister amid a bitcoin-related government scandal.
Czech President Petr Pavel appointed Eva Decroix to the role after her predecessor, Pavel Blažek, resigned on 30 May.
Blažek had been at the centre of a political crisis because his ministry had accepted a donation of bitcoin from a man convicted of running an online drug market and other crimes, before selling them for about €40 million earlier this year.
Blažek said he was not aware of any wrongdoing, but that he did not want the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala to be hurt by the scandal.
Fiala said he appreciated his resignation and that he believed Blažek had acted in good faith.
The former justice minister was a close ally of Fiala and a key player in the prime minister’s conservative Civic Democratic Party. Decroix is from the same party.
Decroix said she will order an independent investigation into the ministry’s activities in the case. Fiala had previously called for a probe, including by Czech secret services.
The scandal has been investigated by the national police’s organised crime unit.
Pavel said the “public trust in the institutions and the state is at stake” over the scandal.
The opposition has accused Blažek of possible money laundering, because the origin of the donated bitcoins is unclear.
Opposition parties are demanding the resignation of the entire government and planning to call a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which could take place later this month.
The government holds 104 of the 200 seats in the lower house, meaning it would be likely to survive such a vote.
Parliamentary elections are set to take place in the Czech Republic in early October. The main opposition ANO (YES) party led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is predicted to win the vote, according to latest opinion polls.
