An Australian computer scientist, Dr Craig Wright, has been referred to UK prosecutors for alleged perjury after falsely claiming to have invented Bitcoin. The decision was made by Judge James Mellor at London’s High Court after a five-week civil trial where the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa) accused Dr Wright of lying to support his claim that he was the creator of the cryptocurrency under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto”.
The judge ruled in March that the evidence against Dr Wright was “overwhelming”, stating that he had committed “forgery on an industrial scale” to uphold his “brazen lie”. This was in response to Copa’s lawsuit against Dr Wright, which aimed to prevent him from suing Bitcoin developers.
In a written ruling today, Judge Mellor announced that he would be referring the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider prosecution for potential perjury and forgery. He stated that Dr Wright had “committed a most serious abuse” by using multiple legal actions to advance his false claim of being Satoshi. The judge also suggested that the CPS consider issuing a warrant for Dr Wright’s arrest and potentially seeking his extradition from his current location.
Dr Wright first claimed to be Satoshi in 2016 and has maintained this stance since then. He asserted that he was the author of the 2008 white paper, the foundational text of Bitcoin, which was originally published under the pseudonym. During the trial, Dr Wright denied all allegations made against him, as the outcome would determine not only ownership of the world’s most popular virtual currency, but also claims over intellectual property.
This news comes after other reports from Sky News, including updates on the frontrunners for the new England football manager and a tragic house fire in which a third child has passed away.
