A UK judge has moved decisively to prevent Craig Wright from circumventing court orders subsequent to a ruling which found Wright to have falsely asserted himself as the originator of Bitcoin.
In response to legal proceedings, the judge has issued a global asset freezing directive, effectively immobilizing £6 million ($7.6 million) worth of Craig Wright’s assets and prohibiting any attempts to move them offshore. This action is detailed in legal documents filed on Thursday.
Judge James Mellor stated in the document, “Yesterday, I granted a worldwide freezing order (‘WFO’) in the sum of £6m, on an application brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (‘COPA’) against Dr Craig Wright.”
Judge Notes Wright’s History of Defaulting on Payment Orders
The ruling emanates from a legal battle instigated by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), who contested Craig Wright’s declarations of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin.
In a verdict issued on March 14, Judge Mellor not only discredited Wright’s claims but also concluded that he was not the originator of the Bitcoin white paper or the initial iterations of the Bitcoin software.
Following the court’s decision, Wright attempted to transfer shares of his RCJBR Holding company to DeMorgan, a Singapore-based entity, in a swift maneuver.
This move sparked concerns that Wright was endeavoring to dodge the financial repercussions of the court’s ruling, particularly the expenses linked with the case, which totaled around £6.7 million.
In his ruling, Judge Mellor underscored Wright’s track record of disregarding payment directives and voiced genuine apprehension that Wright might dissipate his assets to evade his financial responsibilities.
The judge acknowledged COPA’s compelling argument for substantial costs and determined that there was a notable risk of asset dissipation.
“After carefully considering COPA’s cost arguments and anticipating potential counterarguments on behalf of Dr. Wright, I concluded that the appropriate amount for the WFO was £6 million,” he stated.
Craig Wright is Not Satoshi
The judgment that Craig Wright is not Satoshi was delivered at the end of the closing arguments in the lawsuit initiated by COPA against Wright.
COPA, an entity dedicated to fostering the adoption and progression of cryptocurrency technologies by eliminating patents as impediments to innovation, sought injunctive relief to halt Wright from persisting in asserting himself as Nakamoto.
The case presented substantial accusations of document forgery against Wright, alleging that he had concocted a considerable volume of evidence to bolster his assertion of being the anonymous founder of Bitcoin.
Moreover, COPA’s closing statement asserted that Wright had partaken in extensive deception, emphasizing his creation of an intricate biographical background and production of a series of falsified documents to support his assertions.
The evidence unveiled during the trial depicted Wright’s alleged fabrications on an “extraordinary scale.”
Meanwhile, dealing another blow to Wright’s assertion of being the enigmatic Bitcoin creator, a recent investigation provided indications suggesting that Nakamoto might actually be a collective entity.
One compelling piece of evidence is the usage of both “we” and “I” in the Bitcoin white paper, suggesting the potential presence of a team operating under a single pseudonym.
