UK’s High Court has frozen Craig Wright’s assets

The United Kingdom High Court has issued a Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) against the assets of computer scientist and entrepreneur Craig Wright.

The freezing order issued in the Craig Wright v Peter McCormack judgement, aims to aid podcaster Peter McCormack in recovering nearly $2 million in legal expenses incurred during a defamation lawsuit filed by Wright.

The defamation lawsuit filed by Craig Wright

The defamation case, centered on Wright’s controversial claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin, has been a prolonged and complex legal battle.

The conflict began in 2019 when Peter McCormack publicly accused Craig Wright of fraudulently claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

McCormack’s allegations were disseminated through several tweets and a YouTube video.

In response, Craig Wright filed a defamation lawsuit, asserting that these statements had damaged his reputation.

The trial, presided over by Judge Chamberlain in the Media and Communications List of the King’s Bench Division, took place in May 2022, with the judgment handed down in August 2022.

During the trial, McCormack originally defended himself by claiming truth, public interest, and abuse of process.

However, due to the prohibitive costs of legal representation, he later abandoned these defenses and focused solely on denying that his statements had caused serious harm to Wright’s reputation.

Ultimately, the court ruled that while Craig Wright had established a cause of action for defamation, he was awarded only £1 in nominal damages.

This nominal award was due to Wright presenting deliberately false evidence regarding the extent of the harm to his reputation, specifically concerning invitations to academic conferences that he claimed to have received and then been disinvited from.

The WFO to be enforced in Australia, the Seychelles, Antigua, and Singapore

Following the trial, in December 2022, Judge Chamberlain issued a judgment on the consequential issues, ordering Wright to pay McCormack’s legal costs on an indemnity basis, with some exceptions.

Wright sought to appeal this decision, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in July 2023, and his application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused in December 2023.

On 2 July 2024, McCormack applied for a Worldwide Freezing Order against Wright’s assets. This application was heard by a judge familiar with Wright’s other legal proceedings, including his various claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

The WFO was granted to the tune of £1.548 million, aimed at covering the legal costs McCormack incurred in defending the defamation claim.

The order includes ancillary relief, such as the disclosure of Wright’s assets and permission for the WFO to be enforced in Australia, the Seychelles, Antigua, and Singapore.

The court’s decision underscores the significant financial and legal repercussions Wright faces due to his unsubstantiated claims of being the inventor of Bitcoin, especially after a ruling was issued in May this year that he is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

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