A landmark decision in the UK High Court handed down early last
year found serious allegations of ongoing fraud and forgery by the
defendant: COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch). A follow
up judgment, COPA v Wright [2024] EWHC 1809 (Ch),
highlights the potential ramifications for individuals who
knowingly mislead and deceive the Court in order to advance their
position in legal proceedings. Both judgments arose out of a
dispute involving an alliance of cryptocurrency companies and
groups, and Dr Craig Wright, an Australian who claimed to be the
inventor of Bitcoin (together, COPA v
Wright).
Perjury is a serious criminal offence in most jurisdictions. It
is more than merely 'lying' or 'misremembering';
for example, if a person deposes to the details of a conversation
in a particular form in one affidavit, however relays or testifies
to different details of that same conversation at a later date,
that is not necessarily perjury without something more. A
