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Craig Wright had long claimed to have been the author of a 2008
white paper, the foundational text of bitcoin, published under
the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto".
The 54-year-old brought litigation based on his claim around the
world, including in the United States and in Britain,
culminating in a trial at London's High Court earlier this year.
The Crypto Open Patent Alliance – whose members include Twitter
founder Jack Dorsey's payments firm Block – took Wright to court
to stop him suing bitcoin developers.
Judge James Mellor ruled in March that the evidence Wright was
not Satoshi was "overwhelming", saying in a written judgment in
May that Wright lied "extensively and repeatedly" and forged
documents "on a grand scale" during the case.
The judge said in a further ruling on Tuesday that he was
referring Wright to Britain's Crown Prosecution Service to
consider "whether a prosecution should be commenced against Dr
Wright for his wholescale perjury and forgery of documents".
Mellor also said that prosecutors should consider "whether a
warrant for his arrest should be issued and/or whether his
extradition should be sought from wherever he now is".
A spokesperson for Wright did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. Wright denied forging documents when he
gave evidence in February and said in May that he intended to
seek permission to appeal.
His current whereabouts are unknown and Mellor said in Tuesday's
ruling: "The evidence shows that Dr Wright has left his previous
residence in Wimbledon (in London), appears to have left the UK,
has been said to be travelling and was last established to be in
the time zone of UTC +7."
The time zone includes locations in southeast Asia and Russia's
Siberia.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar and Tomasz
Janowski)
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