- Craig Wright has fired one of his attorneys on the same day that evidence against him has been ruled admissible
- Wright seems to have reacted badly to the news that the Australian Tax Office company audit documents have been allowed in
- The ATO doesn’t believe that Wright created Bitcoin and proved many counts of his document forging
Craig Wright has fired one of his legal team in his case against the estate of Dave Kleiman on the same day that key evidence from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) was ruled to be admissible as evidence against him. Wright, who is facing a multibillion dollar bill if he loses, seems to have been aggrieved after audit documents from his entanglements with the ATO prior to the start of his claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto were allowed to be entered as requested by the Kleiman estate. This means that the jury will be able to hear the arguments of the ATO and the evidence they used against Wright, as well as their belief that Wright did not create Bitcoin.
Hurray. As expected, the ATO docs are allowed in the Kleiman v Wright trial. This is important, as these docs guide the Jury to the same conclusion that ATO reached in 2016.
And then Craig’s Satoshi cosplay becomes part of the fraudulent misrepresentation. Yummy. pic.twitter.com/12qyg7aj2A
— Arthur van Pelt 🔥 ∞/21M ⚡ (@MyLegacyKit) October 15, 2021
Wright’s Entanglements With the ATO to be Laid Bare
Wright’s dealings with the ATO date back to around 2011 when his companies came under audit because of huge tax relief rebates he claimed based on R&D. During discussions with the ATO Wright claimed that, as Satoshi Nakamoto, he had mined millions of bitcoin and used them to buy products and services with them, including supercomputers worth six figures.
The ATO, not seeing any evidence strong enough to back up Wright’s claims, instead accused Wright of backdating and otherwise forging contracts, claiming that Wright had “not demonstrated an ability to earn income other than claiming ATO refunds”. They also stated that Wright did not create Bitcoin and likely pretended to have done so in order to distract from his tax issues.
Trial Starts in November
With the ATO’s damning evidence and summary of his behaviour allowed into evidence against him, it is not surprising that the notably volatile Wright has seemingly lashed out and fired an attorney. The jury trial is set to start at the beginning of November, and with the fate of billions worth of bitcoin at stake, the crypto world will be watching keenly.
