Craig Wright, who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, told the London High Court he can’t make it to the court hearing because he can’t afford to travel. And for this, he could be found in contempt and might be arrested.
The hearing, scheduled for today at the Royal Courts of Justice, is part of a legal battle with the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which says Wright broke a previous court order. The alleged breach revolves around his role in a £900 billion lawsuit against over 100 companies, including Jack Dorsey’s Square Up and BTC Core according to Protos report .
Wright’s decision not to attend the hearing has raised concerns that he is trying to dodge responsibility for his actions. Mr Justice Mellor told Wright in November last year he had to attend the hearing and said his reasons for not attending were not valid.
Despite an offer from COPA to pay his travel expenses, including flights from Indonesia or Singapore, the offer was refused by Wright. He claimed £240 000, alleging that because of COPA’s actions, he had lost contracts and would continue to do so.
COPA’s counsel, Jonathan Hough, said Wright had remained absent from the court voluntarily to avoid the lawful consequences of his contempt and called for an immediate custodial sentence of two years.
The contempt case hinges on Wright’s non-compliance with a July court order. The order came after a judgment that his claim to being the creator of Bitcoin was false. COPA is pushing for an 18-month jail sentence for Wright, with an extra six months if he doesn’t stop fighting the claims. The judge has set a hearing for tomorrow for sentencing, and Wright can attend it remotely.
