Articles on cryptoasset disputes under the law of England and Wales.
Identifying perpetrators of cryptoassets fraud using a Norwich Pharmacal order of the English court
Digital footprints are impervious to the desire of threat actors to maintain pseudonymity in their online activities. Victims of cyber fraud can leverage this evidence by deploying a versatile suite of tools under English law, designed to assist in discovering the facts necessary to trace the identity of their perpetrators - and in turn, to recovering misappropriated assets. The Norwich Pharmacal order A Norwich Pharmacal order (NPO) is a form of disclosure order of the English court which requires a person who is mixed up in wrongdoing to disclose certain documents and/or information to the applicant....
Balancing the scales in cryptocurrency exchange disputes: Kraken's mandatory arbitration clause held not binding on UK customer; disputes such as trading loss claims may be pursued in the English courts
Disputes between crypto exchanges and their customers can arise for a plethora of reasons; including stolen coins, hacked accounts, technical errors, ‘flash crashes’, and trading losses. However, it is only when a dispute does arise that the implications of the standard customer terms and conditions of many prominent crypto exchanges become apparent - and in particular, the common term that legal disputes are determinable by foreign-based arbitration procedures, rather than in the domestic courts where customers are domiciled....
Bankers Trust orders: an important tool in cases involving cryptocurrency fraud
The prevalence of financial crime is increasing at an exponential rate both in the UK and internationally. Bankers Trust orders are a type of injunctive remedy of the English court which require a financial institution to provide information and documents in respect of a customer who has perpetrated a fraud. This interim remedy of the court provides a potential means to ascertain the identity of perpetrators of fraud in cases involving the misappropriation of cryptocurrency through cryptocurrency exchanges....
English court confirms legal remedies available in NFT crypto fraud cases
The High Court has made rulings in a March 2022 crypto-fraud case which confirm that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are to be treated as legal property under English law. Lavinia Deborah Osbourne v. (1) Persons Unknown and (2) Ozone Networks, Inc. provides welcome confirmation that evolving legal remedies are available to NFT fraud victims who can satisfy the jurisdictional requirements to gain access to the English courts. Facts Lavinia Osbourne describes herself as a ‘blockchain, fintech and welltech specialist, consultant, and thought leader’, and is the founder of Women in Blockchain Talks, a networking and educational platform....
Injunctive relief granted by the English courts in a cryptocurrency fraud case involving the use of clipboard hijacker malware
In (1) Lubin Betancourt Reyes (2) Custodial Management Solutions Limited v (1) Persons Unknown x 3 (2) Tether Holdings Limited (3) Binance Holdings Ltd - June 2021, the English courts granted injunctive relief as an initial step to the recovery of stolen digital assets. Mr Reyes' legal team sought injunctive relief of the courts in London, including orders for disclosure against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in similar circumstances to the prior case of Ion Science v Persons Unknown (21 December 2020)....