Canada freezes $20m in bitcoin donated to truckers

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Ontario Superior Court judge in Ottawa has frozen millions of dollars, including funds held in cryptocurrency, that had been raised for the convoy protests in the nation’s capital, the Globe and Mail reports.

The order, which was made late Thursday in a secret hearing as part of a class-action civil suit filed against the convoy by residents of Ottawa, is being described as the first of its kind in Canada by Paul Champ, the lawyer for the plaintiffs.

“I can confirm that this is the first successful Mareva order in Canada targeting bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges,” Mr. Champ told The Globe and Mail.

The freezing order, also known as a Mareva injunction, is separate from the federal government’s continuing efforts to seize the same funds. The order is in place so the donations to the convoy – as much as $20-million from around the world – could potentially be redistributed to the citizens of Ottawa if the class action proves successful.

Keith Wilson, a lawyer representing the convoy protesters, said he only learned of the Mareva injunction through media reports. “We have not been served with the order or related court documents,” he said in an e-mail Friday.

The order, issued by Justice Calum MacLeod, tells the convoy protest leaders and fundraisers that they are now restrained from “selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring” any of the assets raised for the protests. It is in effect globally.

The move is part of an increased pressure campaign against the protesters. On Friday morning, police began a massive operation to seal off and clear downtown Ottawa of demonstrators and large trucks that have been clogging up the streets for three weeks. Late Thursday, police made several arrests, including key protest organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich.

A Mareva injunction is a rare but powerful legal tool. It allows for a plaintiff’s lawyer to appear alone before a Canadian judge to press for funds to be blocked.

Last year, a Saudi Arabian company obtained such an order from an Ontario judge to freeze billions held by a former Saudi government official now living in Toronto.

Mareva injunction orders were also issued in lawsuits related to prominent Canadian business controversies such as the Bre-X and Hollinger affairs during the early 2000s.