Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor faces legal trouble

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – An Australian computer scientist who claimed he invented Bitcoin was charged with contempt of court on Friday after filing a 911 million pound ($1.18 billion) lawsuit against Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block SQ.N. Britain.

Craig Wright claimed to be the author of the foundational text of bitcoin, published under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto”. But a court ruled there was “overwhelming evidence” that Wright did not write the 2008 text.

The Crypto Open Patent Alliance took legal action against Wright to prevent him from suing bitcoin developers. After a trial at London’s High Court, a judge said in a written ruling in May that Wright lied “extensively and repeatedly” and falsified documents “on a massive scale.”

The judge referred Wright to Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service in July to consider whether he should be prosecuted for perjury. He also issued an injunction preventing Wright from filing a lawsuit based on his claim to be Satoshi.

Wright is appealing the ruling and no decision has yet been made on whether he can appeal. He denied falsifying documents when he gave evidence in February.

COPA’s attorney Jonathan Hough said during a preliminary hearing Friday that Wright violated the order after filing a lawsuit earlier this month against Square Up Europe Limited, which is ultimately owned by Block.

Wright was not legally represented and appeared at the hearing by video link from Singapore, Hough said.

“I don’t think I have any contempt,” Wright said. He added that if he was found to be in contempt of court, he was prepared to amend his lawsuit to clarify that the case had “nothing to do with the ownership of the creation of the system.”

A hearing to determine whether Wright is in contempt will be held in December. Wright’s lawsuit against Block was meanwhile stayed.

Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by Ros Russell