nChain UK Faces Legal Challenge from Former Directors Over Alleged IP Threat & Whistleblowing Retaliation
London-based blockchain firm nChain UK is embroiled in a legal dispute with two former directors who claim they were dismissed after raising concerns about a potential attempt to acquire the company’s intellectual property.
Two former directors of nChain UK, Andrew Moody, the group finance officer, and David Brookes, the general counsel, are bringing legal proceedings against their former employer, alleging retaliation for whistleblowing. The case, currently underway at a London employment tribunal, centers on claims that the pair were dismissed after uncovering an alleged scheme by an investor to gain control of nChain’s intellectual property without the knowledge of the company’s leadership.
nChain UK, along with three company officials, vehemently disputes these claims, arguing that the directors did not make protected disclosures and were rightfully terminated for gross misconduct. The firm has deep ties to Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has repeatedly and falsely asserted he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous inventor of Bitcoin. In 2024, a high court judge definitively ruled that Wright fabricated documents and consistently lied to support his claims.
According to a written opening note submitted by Moody and Brookes, they alerted their group CEO to the existence of documents created “behind the backs” of nChain’s directors, believing these documents were detrimental to the company’s interests. The former directors contend that these documents – three agreements with an investment company – contained a clause that could have stripped nChain of its entire intellectual property portfolio, posing an “existential threat” to the entire group.
They further allege that the agreements were drafted at the behest of an investor seeking to “hedge their bets” in anticipation of potential legal challenges to Wright’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto.
The dispute gained further complexity following a failed attempt in September 2023 to compel Wright to produce the cryptographic keys that would definitively prove his identity as Bitcoin’s creator. Instead of providing the keys, Wright presented a memory stick that was quickly identified as an “obvious forgery.” This incident reportedly prompted Christen Ager-Hanssen, the group CEO, to describe Wright as “the biggest fake ever,” according to the former directors.
Ager-Hanssen subsequently convened a meeting of group executives on September 26, 2023, to discuss a report outlining the disclosures made by Moody and Brookes regarding the alleged conspiracy to undervalue and acquire nChain’s intellectual property. An attempt to gather further evidence by accessing emails related to the “July documents” was thwarted when the head of IT, acting on a directive for confidentiality, alerted the company’s chair, who vetoed the plan.
The following day, Ager-Hanssen circulated a report, dubbed the “Fairway brief,” labeled as a “Whistleblowing report from the management of HEH holding AG/nChain Group,” along with meeting minutes to company executives. Moody and Brookes claim that a subsequent independent investigation into the allegations outlined in the Fairway brief was a deliberate “whitewash.” They also allege that one of the firms hired to conduct the investigation had previously been engaged to create “evidence” supporting Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, even considering the publication of a book intended for use in court.
Following a disciplinary process, both directors were suspended and subsequently informed of their dismissal due to “gross misconduct.” They maintain that no contemporary evidence exists to justify their suspension and that the true reason for their termination was their involvement in the protected disclosures detailed in the Fairway brief.
nChain UK Limited, along with other respondents in the case, counters that any whistleblowing disclosures were made by Ager-Hanssen, not by Moody and Brookes, accusing the former directors of attempting to “piggyback” on his disclosures in a legally flawed manner. The respondents assert that the “July documents” were reviewed by legal counsel in the UK, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, who deemed them legitimate and lawful commercial agreements, finding no breaches of duty and concluding that the allegations in the Fairway brief were unfounded.
They argue that the agreements did not provide any mechanism for an investor to seize assets should Wright’s claims be overturned, stating that “Wright’s loss in court afforded no right of bail out/asset stripping.” The respondents further contend that the directors’ dismissals were not triggered by their disclosures but by “extraordinary events” and improper conduct that occurred on September 27, 2023.
According to the respondents, CCTV footage depicts Ager-Hanssen engaging in what they describe as “unhinged” behavior, including angrily demanding that one respondent leave the office, using expletives, and alleging an illegal conspiracy to steal intellectual property. Ager-Hanssen is quoted as saying, “You don’t understand corporate governance, you don’t work here … Get out of this office, otherwise, I’m getting security to do it. I am a board member, and you are not. You don’t even work here.” The conduct of Moody and Brookes on September 27 was also characterized as “extraordinary and alarming.”
The respondents also noted that numerous employees not involved in the Fairway brief were suspended following the events of September 27. Ager-Hanssen previously initiated an employment tribunal, which was struck out on October 18, 2024, for lack of active pursuit, according to the respondents’ submissions. In separate legal proceedings, Ager-Hanssen was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for contempt of court in a case involving nChain Holding.
The case, which is being supported by WhistleblowersUK, continues, raising significant questions about corporate governance, intellectual property protection, and the consequences of whistleblowing within the complex world of blockchain technology.
