A bitcoin scandal is good news for the Czech Donald Trump
Andrej Babis looks set to return as prime minister in the autumn
TOMAS JIRIKOVSKY got in way over his head. In 2013 the amateur programmer set up a dark-web market for illegal drug sales. He soon landed in prison. Upon release in 2021 he demanded his gear, which contained lots of cryptocurrency. The case stalled in court, and in March Mr Jirikovsky quietly struck a deal: in exchange for his drives, he would donate 468 bitcoins (currently worth about $49m) to the government.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Bitcoins, Babis and automobiles”
Europe
June 28th 2025- At a tricky NATO summit, a Trumpian meltdown is averted
- A defence splurge will slow Europe’s deindustrialisation
- Germany is embarking on an almighty borrowing binge
- Ukraine is inching towards robot-on-robot fighting
- A bitcoin scandal is good news for the Czech Donald Trump
- How strongmen mastered the art of dividing Europe
From the June 28th 2025 edition
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Ukraine’s political infighting gets nasty
As Trump starves it of arms, there is turmoil inside the government
Turkey’s strongman is becoming Donald Trump’s point man
But renewed war with Iran would put the honeymoon with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the test
Germany’s Bundestag bars AfD MPs from its football team
Could the sporting ban precede a political one?
An infestation of ticks menaces Istanbul
And mosquitos are a growing problem too
The sleeping policeman at the heart of Europe
Enforcement of EU law has become an afterthought
A pragmatic amnesty for separatists benefits Catalonia
But it carries costs for the rule of law