In a new development in the legal saga surrounding the true identity of Bitcoin’s creator, the U.K. High Court has issued an approved judgment alongside some injunctions in the lawsuit involving Craig Wright, who has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
COPA vs CSW – Injunctions Publishedhttps://t.co/tCcfAoU82T pic.twitter.com/p3voE2vvOl
— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) July 16, 2024
In an approved judgment document released by the court on July 16, Judge James Mellor concluded injunctions sought by COPA which, to him, seem to be based, more or less, on an accumulation of the subject matter of each of the five actions.
Judge Mellor stated: “I have concluded that the operative part of the first injunction should read as follows, so that Dr. Wright is able to plead by way of a defence any of the grounds which are the subject of this first injunction, but not pursue a counterclaim.” He touched on the first injunction that refers to an anti-suit injunction preventing Wright from attempting to relitigate the case.
Concerning the second injunction, the judge concluded that each of “Dr. Wright and any of his companies shall not threaten (explicitly or implicitly) or procure any other person to threaten (explicitly or implicitly) that any Precluded Proceedings will be pursued against any person in the Courts.”
Other injunctions
The third injunction attempts to prevent Dr. Wright or his companies from claiming rights based on any of the grounds outlined in the first injunction.
Referral to the Crown Prosecution Service
“In these circumstances, as set out in the whole of my Main COPA Judgment, I have no doubt that I should refer the relevant papers in this case to the CPS for consideration of whether a prosecution should be commenced against Dr Wright… https://t.co/Z79wWX9iAm pic.twitter.com/eY7HQNge9q
— BitMEX Research (@BitMEXResearch) July 16, 2024
The fourth injunction prohibits Dr. Wright or his companies from publishing or causing to be published any claims implying that he is Satoshi, or that he is the author of the Bitcoin White Paper, Bitcoin source code or the like.
The fifth injunction is a mandatory order directing Dr. Wright and his companies to delete all such published statements. It was decided that Dr. Wright would pay all of COPA’s costs on an indemnity basis, with interest calculated from the date of payment. The judge determined that 85% was an adequate threshold for the interim COPA payment.
Judge Mellor also referred Wright to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration on perjury charges.
COPA took Wright to court for a final decision on whether he was the creator of Bitcoin. Judge Mellor deemed Wright not to be in March, and in May, Wright was found to have lied extensively during the court process.
