Ottawa Court Freezes $20M in Cash, Bitcoin Donated to Truckers

Residents of Ottawa, Canada person filed a suit against the Freedom Convoy 2022 protesters seeking up to $20 cardinal retired of the full magnitude of wealth raised successful donations worldwide to beryllium redistributed to citizens of the city, The Globe and Mail first reported.

An Ontario Superior Court justice successful Ottawa past ordered the freezing of the protesters’ funds, some fiat and cryptocurrency, by mentioning regulated fiscal institutions and persons allegedly successful complaint of bitcoin custody for the convoy.

The freezing order, besides known arsenic a Mareva injunction, tells convoy protestation leaders and institutions progressive successful the fundraising that they are present restrained from “selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring” immoderate of the assets raised successful the donations campaigns, including bitcoin.

The bid lists protestation leaders and Bitcoin addresses attributed to each 1 of them, saying they aren’t allowed to determination specified funds. The bid adds that immoderate consequent Bitcoin addresses that person funds from the listed addresses volition besides beryllium targeted, mentioning that concatenation investigation whitethorn beryllium used.

“We person not been served with the bid oregon related tribunal documents,” a lawyer representing the convoy protesters told The Globe and Mail, adding that helium lone learned of the tribunal bid done media reports.

A Mareva injunction allows a plaintiff’s lawyer to look unsocial earlier a justice successful Canada to petition that funds beryllium blocked, per the report. It is seldom used.

This Mareva injunction targeting entities known to clasp assets for the convoy is abstracted from the national government’s efforts to prehend the aforesaid funds, according to the report.

The bid states that defendants who disobey it “may beryllium held to beryllium successful contempt of tribunal and whitethorn beryllium imprisoned, fined, oregon person [their] assets seized.” It besides gives defendants 24 hours to use for an bid granting them capable funds for mean surviving expenses and ineligible proposal and representation.

“Any different idiosyncratic who knows of this bid and does thing which helps oregon permits the Defendant to breach the presumption of this Order whitethorn besides beryllium held to beryllium successful contempt of tribunal and whitethorn beryllium fined oregon imprisoned,” the bid says.

The order besides gives the defendants the close to sell, transfer, oregon dispose of immoderate assets raised for the protestors truthful arsenic agelong arsenic a bare minimum of $20 cardinal is kept frozen.