Home Coins Ethereum Craig Wright’s Wife Nets Legal Victory in Quest to Reclaim Lost Bitcoin

Craig Wright’s Wife Nets Legal Victory in Quest to Reclaim Lost Bitcoin

May 8, 2019

1279

[ad_1]

By CCN: Craig Wright’s wife, Ramona Ang, sued a Cypriot futures exchange, UFX, for closing her account in August 2017 and effectively throwing a wet blanket on her investment goals. The exchange also refused to allow her to withdraw the funds she had used to invest in Bitcoin futures.

UK Judge Rules Case Will Proceed in Britain

Judge Andrew Baker ruled that Ramona Ang’s case against Bitcoin futures exchange UFX may proceed. | Source: Shutterstock

UFX argued that the British court has no jurisdiction over the case since the account closure was based on their terms of service. In an extremely lengthy ruling, British judge Andrew Baker ruled against UFX, allowing the case to proceed.

The ruling is extremely complex, but it details the nature of Ms. Ang’s history with UFX. It states that she also used eToro and IG.com. The gist of her case against UFX is that they closed her account for apparent ToS violations but never provably disclosed their terms of service to her.

It seems important to note that Ang was trading on behalf of herself, as Baker writes:

“Indeed, the description Ms Ang gave in her evidence of what the role entailed would be fit to serve as an outline job description for a part-time PA were her husband seeking to recruit one as paid help. It does not involve Bitcoin trading on behalf of her husband or the provision of foreign exchange or other financial services to him or anyone else as any kind of ‘client’.”

UFX cited multiple reasons for closing her account. As previously noted, it seems part of the case revolves around her marriage to Bitcoin SV creator Craig Wright.

UFX Alleges Dishonesty on Part of Ramona Ang

Further, UFX believes that she was dishonest about her trading history and activity – in short, they think she was a professional trader or, for legal purposes, a business. Baker dismisses this idea, believing that her trading behavior and activity are characteristic of retail Bitcoin investors.

“Mr Bradley, for Reliantco, submitted that Ms Ang was or may have been selective and less than fully candid in her presentation of documentary records to support what she said about her eToro and IG accounts. In my judgment, however, there is no basis for concluding that her use of eToro and IG was different in kind or character from her use of UFX. If in that use, considered on its own merits, Ms Ang is properly to be characterised as a consumer under Brussels (Recast), there is no reason to suppose that any fuller investigation of her use of eToro and IG might suggest otherwise.”

Ramona Ang appears to have a valid case against UFX. She estimates that her losses total nearly $3 million. A legal expert website concludes:

“This judgment demonstrates that the question of whether a private investor is a consumer for the purposes of the recast EU Brussels Regulation remains unclear and will often turn on the facts. With a lack of clarity in the case law, it also demonstrates the need for the issue to be considered at a higher level.”

In other words, there is still no legal precedent on the matter.