Czech Constitutional Court reviews detention of Tomáš Jiřikovský in bitcoin scandal

The Constitutional Court in Prague announced that it will issue rulings on two earlier decisions that kept Tomáš Jiřikovský in pre‑trial detention. The court said the lower‑court proceedings contained procedural flaws, but it did not decide whether the detention itself was justified. Jiřikovský, a former darknet marketplace operator, is accused of money‑laundering, embezzlement and illegal arms and drug trade, and of donating bitcoin worth about one billion Czech koruna to the state. The case also implicates former Justice Minister Pavel Blažek, his former deputy Radomír Daňhel and Jiřikovský’s lawyer Kárim Titz, who face charges of legalising criminal proceeds and abuse of office. All three remain free on bail, with potential sentences of five to twelve years.

The court’s decision also touches on a separate constitutional complaint concerning the calculation of parental leave into prosecutors’ service length, but the main focus remains the ongoing bitcoin‑related criminal investigation.