In a further decision demonstrating the English court’s ability to apply the law flexibly to novel issues arising in relation to crypto assets, the High Court has granted information orders against various foreign cryptocurrency exchanges requiring the provision of information and documentation to help identify those who hold accounts into which stolen cryptocurrency was allegedly … Read more

The High Court held, on an uncontested summary judgment application, that the crypto exchange controlling the wallet into which the claimant’s stolen bitcoin was transferred sat in a position of constructive trustee as against the claimant. It ordered delivery up of the bitcoin as against the fraudsters as well as the exchange: Jones v Persons … Read more

The circumstances in which the English courts can grant permission to serve civil claims out of the jurisdiction will soon be expanded substantially, including a number of changes that could potentially make it easier to pursue cross-border fraud actions in some cases. A suite of proposals to amend and add to the existing list of … Read more

The High Court has granted the first third-party debt order in relation to cryptocurrency in an application involving allegations of fraud related to a cryptocurrency initial coin offering.  A third-party debt order (formerly known as a garnishee order) is a method of enforcing a money judgment by recovering sums that are in the hands of … Read more

In a recent judgment, the Privy Council has delivered a “ground-breaking exposition of the law of injunctions” (in the words of the Master of the Rolls), including a restatement of the test for freezing injunctions.  Although the analysis is technically obiter dicta, it will be highly influential on any English or other common law court … Read more

The High Court has ruled on an ex parte interim application involving allegations of extensive cyber fraud relating to a cryptocurrency initial coin offering. The court granted both a worldwide freezing order and an ancillary disclosure order against the alleged fraudster, whose identity is not known: Ion Science Ltd v Persons Unknown (unreported, 21 December … Read more

Very often, when seeking to obtain a freezing injunction, the true extent of the defendant’s assets is unclear. Complex and opaque offshore corporate or trust structures may mask the true ownership of assets. A mere connection between a defendant and assets held by third parties will not be sufficient to freeze those assets: the claimant … Read more

The High Court has reaffirmed its jurisdiction under section 37(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 to compel defendants who are subject to the court’s jurisdiction to disclose their assets worldwide in order to aid execution of a judgment or (as in this case) arbitration award, despite the absence of a freezing injunction: Cruz City 1 … Read more