High Court Freezes Craig Wright Assets, Orders £1.548M Payment Of Legal Fees

Key Points:

• The High Court ordered Craig Wright to pay £1.548 million for Peter McCormack’s legal fees.

High Court freezes Craig Wright assets, ordering £1.548M payment to cover Peter McCormack’s legal fees from the 2019 defamation case Wright filed against him.

The High Court in London has issued a Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) against Craig Wright, mandating a payment of £1.548 million to cover Peter McCormack’s legal fees from the 2019 defamation case Wright filed against him.

High Court freezes Craig Wright assets

Wright failed in a legal bid to gain more than token damages from a libel claim against Bitcoiner and podcaster Peter McCormack, who Wright claimed was defaming him by disputing his assertion of being Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.

The London Court of Appeal said that an indemnity of only 1 British pound ($1.29) being offered to Wright was adequate because it unanimously held the secret case Wright had brought before the court was illustrative of the nominal sum.

High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain acknowledged earlier that Wright and his litigation had acted dishonestly, which was pertinent given the charge of libel that Wright was dishonest.

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Judge’s assessment of Wright’s conduct

Wright expressed disappointment there, outlining that the Court of Appeal failed to consider the harm caused by online vitriol to his well-being. McCormack’s lawyers, Rupert Cowper-Coles, hailed the ruling in the Court of Appeal as laying down an important principle of English law, saying that a claimant will not be awarded damages for an undeserved reputation.

In an October 2021 judgment, Wright was awarded only nominal damages despite McCormack being ordered to pay around £900,000 in legal costs. In a separate U.K. case, judges have ordered Wright to pay £400,000 in security for legal costs to pursue claims against crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase.

There is a looming decision by a Florida court, which is expected to rule on the contempt of court from Wright, a case brought against him on Kleiman’s $143 million plea, in which he had been an erstwhile business partner.