The renowned Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who has long claimed to be the mastermind behind Bitcoin, has been referred to British prosecutors for alleged perjury.
A London’s High Court judge found on July 16 that Wright lied extensively to support his false claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous author of the 2008 Bitcoin (BTC) white paper.
In a March ruling, Judge James Mellor determined that the evidence overwhelmingly disproved Wright’s claim after the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) initiated a trial to prevent Wright from suing BTC developers.
Related: United Kingdom High Court freezes Craig Wright’s assets
Case referred to state prosecutor
According to Reuters, Judge Mellor’s written ruling on July 16 indicated that Wright’s conduct warranted referral to Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider perjury charges.
The judge explained that the perjury charges should be considered due to Wright’s false testimony during the COPA-initiated trial.
Judge Mellor emphasized that prosecution, an arrest warrant, or extradition could be pursued due to the seriousness of Wright’s actions and false claims.
Related: Can Bitcoin finally move on from Craig Wright?
Wright’s assets frozen
According to a legal document filed on July 5, the High Court of the United Kingdom issued Wright with a World Freezing Order.
The order resulted in Wright’s assets being frozen in efforts to aid podcast host and entrepreneur Peter McCormack, who was sued by Wright for libel in 2019.
The freezing of Wright’s assets allowed McCormack to recoup around £1.5 million (worth $1.9 million) in legal fees incurred in the libel case.
Related: Court ruling dismantles would-be Bitcoin creator Craig Wright’s false claims
COPA dismantle Wright’s claims
On May 23, Judge Mellor issued a detailed ruling in the COPA-initiated case, dismantling Wright’s mountain of fabricated evidence and assertions regarding his true identity.
In the case, COPA alleged that Wright engaged in an elaborate scheme of forgery and deceit when fabricating evidence to support his now-proven falsified identity claims.
COPA’s legal team presented a range of evidence and expert testimony exposing Wright’s false evidence and the inconsistencies in false proof of his identity.
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