Craig Wright, self-declared inventor of Bitcoin, arrives at federal courtroom in West Palm Seaside, Florida, U.S., on Friday, June 28, 2019.
Saul Martinez | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
LONDON — Craig Wright, an Australian man who claimed to be the inventor of bitcoin, was on Tuesday referred to British prosecutors for committing alleged perjury.
On Tuesday, British Excessive Courtroom Choose James Mellor determined to refer a case in opposition to Wright’s declare to be the inventor of bitcoin to the Crown Prosecution Service — which is the group that prosecutes legal instances investigated by the police in England and Wales.
The CPS will now take into account whether or not Wright ought to be prosecuted for what Mellor referred to as “wholescale perjury and forgery of paperwork,” and determine on whether or not a warrant for arrest and doable extradition is required.
Wright has remained principally silent since a Excessive Courtroom ruling was issued claiming that he had lied “extensively and repeatedly” in his proof making an attempt to show the case that he was bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Wright tried within the London courtroom case to show he was the unique inventor of bitcoin, and due to this fact held mental property rights, together with possession of copyright within the bitcoin white paper and preliminary variations of the bitcoin software program. The bitcoin protocol is a decentralized, open-source community and no single entity can achieve management over it.
Mellor dominated that Wright tried to create a false narrative by forging paperwork “on a grand scale,” presenting them as proof in courtroom.
He added that by advancing his declare to be Satoshi Nakamoto via authorized motion within the U.Ok. — in addition to Norway and the U.S. — Wright dedicated “a most critical abuse” of the method of the courts.
On Wright’s official web site, which was wiped of content material shortly after Mellor’s ruling, a authorized discover was posted on Tuesday which learn: “DR CRAIG STEVEN WRIGHT IS NOT SATOSHI NAKAMOTO.”
This discover, which reiterates the ruling that Wright was not the inventor of bitcoin, notes that Wright has been ordered to not begin any authorized proceedings primarily based on his false claims — or counterclaims — and that he should not threaten any such proceedings.
Wright’s holding firm, Tulip Buying and selling, was not instantly out there for remark when contacted by CNBC.