The UK High Court has issued a worldwide freezing order (WFO) on the assets of Craig Wright, a computer scientist and businessman, following a legal dispute with podcaster Peter McCormack. The order, aimed at securing approximately 1.54 million British pounds ($1.9 million) in assets, intends to cover McCormack’s legal costs incurred during a defamation lawsuit initiated by Wright.
Justice James Mellor highlighted in his ruling that Wright had misused defamation laws to suppress dissent against his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Justice Mellor expressed strong confidence in McCormack’s case for recovering the legal fees, amounting to £1.548 million.
The controversy began when Wright, who has long claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, sued McCormack for libel following McCormack’s public denial of Wright’s claims and calling him a “fraud” on his podcast, “What Bitcoin Did”. However, in March, a judge ruled there was substantial evidence to refute Wright’s assertions, stating he was not Satoshi Nakamoto nor the author of the Bitcoin white paper.
