Craig Wright, the man desperate to convince the world that he is Bitcoin’s creator, may have something to celebrate in his ongoing lawsuit against the Kleiman estate if the so-called “bonded courier” shows up. Basically, things are getting weird.
Court documents shared by CoinDesk details how a US district judge has called several previously established facts into question.
Judge Reinhart — who Wright insulted during a recent interview — had deemed it a fact that the Kleiman estate retained a 50/50 stake in Wright’s assets and intellectual property.
However, court documents show that Justice Bloom has said the facts are unsettled. Previously, the hearing centered around the amount and whereabouts of Wright’s Bitcoin stash, meaning his partnership with the late David Kleiman was beyond Reinhart’s remit, Bloom says.
She also notes the amount of Bitcoin owned by Wright “remains unknown, or at the very least, still at issue.”
The bonded courier
The lawsuit began in February 2018 after Dave Kleiman’s brother Ira filed a suit over the rights to a significant stash of Bitcoin.
Ira, who is suing for approximately 1 million BTC ($8.5 billion), claims Wright seized his brother’s Bitcoin and his intellectual property as part of a fraudulent scheme after Dave passed away in 2013.
The latest development comes after Craig Wright was deemed to be in contempt of court after failing to provide a comprehensive list of his Bitcoin stash before the end of 2013.
Wright has long told the court that he is unable to access the cryptocurrency holdings because he doesn’t know the Bitcoin public addresses.
He claims to have deposited the Bitcoin, mined between 2009 and 2010, into a blind trust, which has now expired.
Wright claims he is unable to decrypt the file until he is given access by a bonded courier who will apparently arrive in January 2020.
“The court questions whether it is remotely plausible that the mysterious “bonded courier” is going to arrive, let alone that he will arrive in January 2020 as the defendant now contends. However, given that the Defendant maintains that he should at least be afforded this opportunity, the court will indulge him this much,” reads the court filing.
“In the event this occurs, and further if the Defendant produces his list of Bitcoin Holdings as ordered by the Magistrate Judge, then this Court will not impose any additional sanctions other than the ones discussed above,” it continues.
Wright now has until February 3 to file a notice with the Court “indicating whether or not this mysterious figure has appeared from the shadows.”
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