UK High Court issues asset freeze order against Craig Wright

The UK High Court has granted Peter McCormack’s application for a World Freezing Order against Craig Wright’s assets.
McCormack seeks to recover over £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in legal fees relating to Wright’s libel case against the podcaster.

The UK High Court has issued a World Freezing Order, or ‘WFO’ against assets of Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who sued entrepreneur and podcast host Peter McCormack in 2019.

In this case, the court has granted McCormack’s application for WFO against Wright, with the verdict set to see McCormack recover over £1.5 million ($1.9 million) in legal fees.

This is according to legal documents filed on Friday, July 5.

Wright sued McCormack for defamation, and lost

In 2019, Wright filed a libel case against McCormack accusing the podcaster of defamation over remarks that Wright was not Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Wright lost that case in August 2022 and an appeal was dismissed on July 26, 2023. The UK Supreme Court also refused Wright’s appeal in December 2023.

In his judgment, Justice Mellor also noted the developments around the COPA Trial. In May 2024, the judge ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto nor the creator of Bitcoin. The ruling also clarified that Craig did not author the Bitcoin White Paper that ushered in the world’s largest digital asset.

Peter McCormack shared the latest verdict against Wright in this matter, noting that worldwide freezing order “in the sum of £1.548m” was to aid in the recovery of his legal fees.