Kleiman Lawyers: Craig Wright ‘Has Keys to Encrypted BTC 820,200 File’
The long and bitter legal struggle between Dave Kleiman’s estate and Australian computer scientist Craig Wright has taken a new twist, with the former’s legal team claiming Wright has the keys to an encrypted file that may contain the private keys to over BTC 820,000 (USD 7.5 billion) – as well as proof that the duo were working in partnership.
The Kleiman estate says that Kleiman, who died in April 2013, had been mining bitcoin in partnership with Wright, but that upon the former’s death, Wright has attempted to hold onto Kleiman’s share of funds – which should have been transferred to the estate.
Wright claims there was no such agreement. However, the Kleiman estate says that proof of the partnership is held in an encrypted file at the center of the case. And per a new legal filing, the estate says Wright is “refusing” to unlock the file and allow the court to see what lies within.
The estate’s lawyers wrote that “Wright has the ability to open the encrypted file, but won’t because it will contain evidence of the partnership and its bitcoin holdings.”
They added,
“Wright knew that [the estate] can’t access the encrypted file without his keyslices. Keyslices he clearly already has as demonstrated by the (i) spending of over USD 1,600,000 worth of the allegedly locked up bitcoin and (ii) his comments […] that he could ‘have tanked the market anytime in the last 10 years and ran away laughing.’”
Here are some of the lawyers’ other allegations, as outlined in the document:
- Wright has repeatedly lied under oath and submitted forged evidence in a failed effort to avoid trial and win this case through dispositive motions
- Wright provides perjurious testimony and forged evidence in an effort to avoid compliance with court orders
- Wright submitted new lies and forgeries directly to the court to avoid sanctions and to prevent [the estate] from proving its case
- Wright has flagrantly obstructed the discovery process and plaintiff’s attempts to prove the scope and extent of the Satoshi Nakamoto partnership
- Wright’s conduct has made and will continue to make a mockery of the judicial system
- Wright’s misconduct demonstrates sanctionable bad faith
- Wright’s sustained and unrepentant pattern of lies and forgeries demonstrates he is acting in clear and willful bad faith and has committed numerous frauds upon the court
- Wright’s misconduct has prejudiced plaintiffs in numerous ways
The estate called upon the court to uphold a verdict imposed by a Florida court last year, which ordered Wright, who is also a prominent supporter of Bitcoin SV (BSV), to transfer half of the BTC holdings to the estate.
However, Wright – who claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the author of the Bitcoin white paper – has so far refused to transfer the funds, and has attempted to fight back against the judgment.
Twitter users have been reacting to the motion online, with one lawyer stating, “If I had to bet, [Wright is] going to have a judgment entered against him.”
We’ll update the article once Wright responds to our request for comment.
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‘Craig Wright Is Not the Victim Here’ as He Tries to Dodge Sanctions
