Bitcoin
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright referred to prosecutors
Craig Wright, self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, arrives at federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on Friday, June 28, 2019.
Saul Martinez | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — Craig Wright, an Australian who claimed to be the inventor of the bitcoinwas referred to British prosecutors on Tuesday for alleged perjury.
On Tuesday, British High Court judge James Mellor ruled to refer a case against Wright’s claim to be the inventor of bitcoin to the Crown Prosecution Service — the organization that prosecutes criminal cases investigated by police in England and Wales.
The CPS will now consider whether Wright should be prosecuted for what Mellor called “perjury on a massive scale and forgery of documents” and decide whether an arrest warrant and possible extradition are necessary.
Wright has remained silent since a High Court ruling was issued claiming he lied “extensively and repeatedly” in his evidence trying to prove the case that he was bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.
Wright attempted in the London court case to prove that he was the original inventor of bitcoin and therefore held intellectual property rights, including copyright ownership in the bitcoin white paper and early versions of the bitcoin software. The bitcoin protocol is a decentralized, open-source network and no single entity can gain control over it.
Mellor ruled that Wright attempted to create a false narrative by falsifying documents “on a massive scale” and presenting them as evidence in court.
He added that by claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto through legal action in the UK — as well as in Norway and the US — Wright had committed “a very serious abuse” of the court process.
On Wright’s official website, the content of which was deleted shortly after Mellor’s ruling, a legal notice was posted Tuesday that read: “DR. CRAIG STEVEN WRIGHT IS NOT SATOSHI NAKAMOTO.”
This notice, which reiterates the ruling that Wright was not the inventor of bitcoin, notes that Wright has been ordered not to initiate any legal proceedings based on his false claims — or counterclaims — and that he must not threaten any such lawsuit.
Wright’s holding company, Tulip Trading, was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.