UK Judge Freezes Craig Wright’s Assets To Prevent Fees Evasion

A U.K. judge placed a worldwide freezing order on 6 million British pounds ($7.6 million) of Craig Wright’s assets to stop him from shifting his assets offshore and avoiding fees related to a court action where it was determined he was not the inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, as he had claimed.

Judge James Mellor, hearing the lawsuit brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), determined on March 14 that Wright was not the inventor of the original Bitcoin program or the white paper.

Shortly thereafter, Wright sent notice to Companies House, the United Kingdom’s company record, that shares of his RCJBR Holding company had been transferred to DeMorgan, a Singaporean corporation.

A ruling dated Wednesday that was uploaded to the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund’s website states that COPA will have to pay roughly 6.7 million pounds in costs.

Mellor stated in the ruling, referring to the share transfer, “Understandably, that gave rise to serious concerns on COPA’s part that Dr Wright was implementing measures to seek to evade the costs consequences of his loss at trial.”

Mellor said, “Dr Wright has a history of default in relation to orders for the payment of money.” He added, “… COPA has a very powerful claim to be awarded a very substantial sum in costs … I consider there is a very real risk of dissipation.”

Also Read: COPA Accuses Craig Wright of Forgery in Satoshi’s Claim Trial