Regulation
Craig Wright charged with perjury
The Bitcoin authorship saga continues after a UK judge sent Craig Wright’s case to British prosecutors for alleged perjury and document falsification. The move follows the latest ruling in the legal battle between the Australian computer scientist and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA).
Bitcoin Paternity Case COPA v Wright
Over the years, Craig Wright has faced several legal battles for his attempts to copyright the Bitcoin whitepaper and claim authorship of BTC. His claim to be the person behind the pseudonymous identity of Satoshi Nakamoto began in 2016 and has been hotly contested by the cryptocurrency industry and its figures.
In the latest attempt to disprove the Australian computer scientist’s paternity of the flagship cryptocurrency, COPA has taken Wright to court in the United Kingdom. According to the ruling, Judge James Mellor concluded that Wright was not the creator of Bitcoin, as the plaintiff provided “overwhelming evidence” to refute these claims.
Furthermore, Judge Mellor granted a $7.6 million worldwide freezing order (WFO) on Wright’s assets due to the high risk of evading the costs of settling the case. Some of the defendant’s moves and transactions raised red flags and led plaintiff to believe that Wright might be trying to evade the “costs and consequences of his loss at trial.”
According to the ruling, COPA made a “very powerful” claim to be awarded a substantial sum. The judge took into account Wright’s “history of noncompliance with money orders” and his history of lying that warranted the WFO.
In May, Judge Mellor issued his written ruling in the case. In the ruling, the judge found that Wright had lied “extensively and repeatedly” in his written and oral evidence. Wright was also found to have “falsified documents on a massive scale” to support his claim.
UK Judge concludes Wright lied in trial evidence. Source: Find Case Law
UK judge refers Wright’s case to CPS
COPA’s request to refer the documents to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was granted on Tuesday. Judge Mellor said that “if what happened in this case does not justify referral to the CPS, it is difficult to imagine a case that would.”
The UK judge finds Wright’s “sinister and mendacious” campaign to support his claim requires an “extraordinary” response.
Excerpt of Tusday's Court ruling. Source: Find Case Law
As a result, the case was forwarded to the CPS to consider whether Wright should be prosecuted for “large-scale perjury and falsification of documents”.
I have no doubt that I should forward the relevant documents in this case to the CPS to consider whether to bring criminal proceedings against Dr Wright for his widespread perjury and falsification of documents and/or whether to issue a warrant for his arrest and/or whether to seek his extradition from wherever he is now. All these matters need to be decided by the CPS.
Furthermore, the document states that the whereabouts of the Australian computer scientist are unknown. Evidence presented by COPA revealed that Wright Left his previous residence in Wimbledon and has apparently left the UK.
Wright is apparently traveling to countries in the UTC +7 time zone, which includes locations in Russian Siberia and Southeast Asia. Ultimately, the court finds that Wright has committed a “gross abuse” of the process of the courts in the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States to advance his claims that he is Satoshi Nakamoto and the creator of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $63,850 in the weekly chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
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