Excessive Court docket motion freezes £1.5 million of Craig Wright’s belongings amid defamation fallout

The UK Excessive Court docket has granted Peter McCormack a Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) towards Craig Wright. This choice, handed down by Mr. Justice Mellor, follows a collection of authorized battles between the 2 events, primarily revolving round Wright’s defamation declare towards McCormack.

The WFO granted to McCormack is meant to forestall Wright from dissipating his belongings to keep away from paying the substantial authorized prices McCormack incurred whereas defending towards the defamation declare. The order covers a sum of £1.548 million, which incorporates prices already awarded to McCormack and extra bills associated to Wright’s fraudulent conduct in the course of the defamation proceedings.

The defamation declare stemmed from McCormack’s social media posts and a YouTube video wherein he accused Wright of fraudulently claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. In a earlier judgment, the court docket discovered that Wright had introduced intentionally false proof and awarded him solely nominal damages of £1 whereas acknowledging that McCormack’s statements had induced severe hurt to Wright’s repute. The judgment was upheld by the Court docket of Attraction, which cited Wright’s dishonest conduct in the course of the litigation as a important think about its choice to award minimal damages.

Justice Mellor’s choice to grant the WFO was influenced by a number of elements, together with Wright’s historical past of defaulting on cost orders and the danger of asset dissipation. The court docket famous that Wright had beforehand transferred shares in his firm to an offshore entity shortly after a judgment towards him, elevating considerations about his intentions to evade monetary liabilities.

This WFO is a part of a broader sample of authorized actions involving Wright, who has been concerned in a number of lawsuits asserting his declare to be Satoshi Nakamoto. In one other current case, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) efficiently received its case towards Wright after the court docket discovered overwhelming proof that he’s not the creator of Bitcoin and had solid paperwork to help his declare.

The Excessive Court docket’s judgment highlights Wright’s fraudulent conduct’s severe implications and the authorized mechanisms obtainable to guard events from the danger of asset dissipation in such circumstances.

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