The recent legal development reveals that the High Court of the United Kingdom has decided to freeze the assets belonging to Craig Wright, a computer scientist and businessman, as detailed in newly released legal papers. The court has put in place a worldwide freezing order (WFO) at the request of podcaster Peter McCormack, aiming to recover the legal expenses he faced when Wright filed a defamation lawsuit against him.

McCormack shared with his 543,000 followers on the social media platform X that the order has effectively frozen around 1.54 million British pounds ($1.9 million) worth of Wright’s assets, potentially assisting in the reimbursement of his legal costs. Justice James Mellor, in his ruling, remarked, “Wright exploited defamation laws to silence those questioning his claim to be Dr. Wright and Satoshi. It is clear to me that Mr. McCormack has a compelling case, even a very strong one, to seek reimbursement of £1.548 million in costs.”

For years, Wright has claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. However, a judge concluded in March that there exists substantial evidence proving otherwise – that Wright is neither Satoshi, nor the individual behind the Bitcoin (BTC) white paper, which forms the basis of the digital currency.

Wright took legal action against McCormack, the host of the What Bitcoin Did podcast, for slander, after McCormack publicly denounced Wright as a “fraud” for asserting his identity as the mysterious figure, Satoshi Nakamoto.