A judge on Thursday ruled that computer scientist Craig Wright could try to avoid a financial judgment imposed on him after a British court ruled he was not the creator of Bitcoin. issued an order freezing a significant portion of its assets.
According to court documents shared by the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund, the “global freezing order” imposed by Judge James Mellor was aimed at securing £6 million (approximately $7.4 million) of Wright's assets. There is.
The legal hold is the latest step in a recent legal dispute that began in February between COPA, the Bitcoin developer organization backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and Craig Wright. Earlier this month, Mellor ruled that Wright was neither the person behind the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym nor the author of the Bitcoin white paper.
The freeze is intended to cover COPA's legal costs and prevent the “dissipation” of Wright's assets, according to court documents. In January, before the trial began, Wright offered COPA a settlement to avoid the escalating costs of his case, but COPA rejected the offer.
Mellor noted that the move was prompted by Wright's March 18 transfer of ownership of the shares in his company RCJBR Holding to Singapore-based DeMorgan PTE.
“Understandably, this raised serious concerns on the part of COPA that Dr. Wright was taking steps to try to avoid the cost implications of losing at trial,” Mellor said, adding that COPA ( and its associated Bitcoin developers) reaffirmed themselves as winners.
Although COPA has a “very strong case for being awarded very large costs,” the judge said it was wrong to issue a final COPA payment order against Wright without Wright having had a chance to respond. admitted.
“In my judgment, this is a clear case for a freezing injunction, and it is a case with worldwide reach,” Mellor said.
Mr Mellor reiterated that the court requires Mr Wright to provide a clear accounting of all assets as soon as possible.
COPA has been in a legal battle with Wright since 2021, repeatedly insisting that his claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin are false.
“Our contention is that the claim that Dr. Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto is a blatant lie, an elaborate false narrative backed by industrial-scale fabrication,” COPA representatives said. the attorney said in an email. Decryption.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
