CoinDesk: ‘Craig Wright Referred to UK Prosecutors for Consideration of Perjury Charges’
“Craig Wright, who claimed to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to be considered for perjury charges for evidence he presented in a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance.
COPA, a non-profit organization representing bitcoin developers, filed suit against Wright in 2021 for a once-and-for-all ruling that he is not Nakamoto, to prevent him from claiming copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper and to stop him suing Bitcoin developers while purporting to be Nakamoto. COPA is funded by leading industry figures and companies including Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and crypto exchange Coinbase.
In March, presiding judge James Mellor ruled that Wright was not Nakamoto, and in a May judgment said Wright had lied extensively throughout the case. In a filing today, he said U.K. prosecutors should consider whether Wright should be tried for perjury.
“I have no doubt that I should refer the relevant papers in this case to the CPS for consideration of whether a prosecution should be commenced against Dr. Wright for his wholescale perjury and forgery of documents and/or whether a warrant for his arrest should be issued and/or whether his extradition should be sought from wherever he now is,” Mellor wrote in the court document. “All those matters are to be decided by the CPS.”
Mellor also said evidence from Stefan Matthews, one of Wright’s witnesses during the trial, should be referred to the CPS.
“So far as Mr. Matthews is concerned, it is true, as COPA submitted, that he has been a major player in Dr. Wright’s campaign to establish himself as Satoshi for many years, and in that capacity, has been a significant supporter and purveyor of that lie,” Mellor said.”