The founder of the darknet marketplace was arrested in the Czech Republic in a bitcoin bribery case.

# The founder of the darknet marketplace was arrested in the Czech Republic in a bitcoin bribery case

The Czech police have arrested programmer Tomáš Jíříkovský as part of the investigation into a criminal case related to the donation of bitcoins to the country's Ministry of Justice.

The press release does not directly name the detained individual, but the context points to Jirzhikovsky. Several local media outlets also confirmed the information.

According to Deník N, the arrest took place on the evening of August 14. The suspect tried to hide from the police by climbing onto the roof of his house during the raid.

The police intervened under dramatic circumstances last night in a house in Břeclav, where the donor of a billion in bitcoins, Tomáš Jiřikovský, resides. The man, whom investigators suspect of illegal production and other handling of drugs, escaped to the roof of the house during the raid. Subsequently, the police… pic.twitter.com/zUYkVoWxCV

— Deník N (@enkocz) August 15, 2025

Yirzhikovski is the founder of the darknet marketplace Sheep Marketplace, which was shut down in 2013. In 2017, he received a nine-year prison sentence, but was released in 2021 on parole.

After his release from prison, he attempted to recover the seized equipment, including a laptop with a bitcoin wallet that contained approximately 1560 BTC. The case stalled in court until in March 2025, Jirzhikovski, through his lawyer, donated 468 BTC (30%) from the confiscated assets to the government.

The incident caused a corruption scandal in the Czech Republic, which led to the resignation of the former Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek. The opposition accused him of receiving bribes and the opaque sale of assets.

Yirzhikovsky is currently in custody. He is charged with two criminal episodes from 2015 and 2025, related to money laundering.

A recent statement from the authorities indicates that the police have also decided to confiscate the cryptocurrency of the Ministry of Justice, stored in the wallet of the State Property Representation Office, recognizing it as criminal income.

Let us remind you that in June, the anti-corruption agency cleared President Javier Milei of charges of ethical violations related to the promotion of the meme token LIBRA.