Cryptocurrency

The accused was charged with three offences: fraudulently possessing computer passwords obtained from the Genesis Market (an online marketplace for stolen credentials obtained through malware), possessing four forged pieces of identification, and breaching a probation order prohibiting possession of identity documents not legally issued in his name.

The Crown proved that the accused controlled two Genesis Market accounts and purchased thousands of stolen credentials using cryptocurrency funded through a Coinbase account registered in his name.

Four forged driver's licenses bearing the accused's photograph but different names were found in his residence.

The court found the accused guilty on all three counts after determining that the electronic evidence from the Genesis Market database was authentic and reliable, that the accused controlled the relevant accounts, and that the forged identification documents were clearly counterfeit.

The plaintiff brought a motion for contempt against the defendant for breaching a Mareva order.

The defendant had drawn approximately $950,000 from lines of credit secured against her properties, contrary to the order.

The defendant admitted to the breach and claimed she had been defrauded in a cryptocurrency investment scheme.

The court found the defendant in contempt but imposed a fine of $7,500 rather than imprisonment, considering the defendant's personal circumstances, remorse, and the fact that the contemptuous conduct was complete.

Costs were fixed at $50,000.

The Ontario Securities Commission appealed the acquittal of Stephan Katmarian on four counts of securities violations related to the promotion of Peblik Inc., a cryptocurrency token purportedly backed by the Thierry Mine.

The trial judge acquitted Katmarian on all counts.

On appeal, the Superior Court allowed the appeal on Count 1 (fraud), finding the trial judge erred in law regarding the element of deprivation by requiring proof of detrimental reliance rather than risk of deprivation.

The Court dismissed the appeals on Counts 2 (misleading statements to the Commission), 3 (unregistered trading in securities), and 4 (distribution without prospectus).

The Court entered a conviction on Count 1 and remanded for sentencing.

The decision concerns a motion to set aside or vary a Mareva injunction, Norwich order, and preservation order obtained ex parte by the plaintiffs in a cryptocurrency mining business dispute.

The court finds a strong prima facie case of fraudulent misrepresentation against most defendants, upholds the Mareva and preservation orders (except as against Farhad Eshfagh), and addresses the standards for full and frank disclosure on ex parte motions, risk of dissipation, and balance of convenience.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario allowed the appeal of Colin Patrick Murphy, finding that the motion judge erred by compelling Murphy to testify during his own civil contempt proceedings, in violation of section 11(c) of the Charter.

The compelled testimony was improperly used to support a finding of contempt and to justify a sentence of incarceration.

The Court held that section 11(c) applies to civil contempt proceedings, including sentencing, and prohibits testimonial compulsion once contempt is alleged.

The finding of contempt for failing to produce deleted data and the sentence were set aside, and the matter was remitted for a new sentencing hearing on the admitted acts of contempt.

The Attorney General for Ontario applied for certiorari and mandamus to quash a provincial court judge's refusal to issue a general warrant and assistance order.

The police sought to use the general warrant to seize cryptocurrency held on a third-party exchange (Binance) by compelling the exchange to transfer the funds to a police-controlled wallet.

The Superior Court dismissed the application, finding that the general warrant was not available because other provisions in the Criminal Code, specifically Part XII.2 relating to digital assets warrants and restraint orders, provide a substantive equivalent for seizing such assets.

The defendants, Coinbase Global, Inc., Coinbase, Inc., Coinbase Europe Limited, and Coinbase Canada Inc., brought a motion to dismiss a putative class action for want of jurisdiction and, alternatively, to permanently stay the action on the basis of forum non conveniens.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendants violated Ontario securities legislation by distributing crypto assets without complying with prospectus requirements.

The court found presence-based jurisdiction only over Coinbase Canada Inc. due to its business activities in Ontario.

However, the court found no presence-based, consent-based, or assumed jurisdiction over Coinbase Europe, Coinbase Inc., or Coinbase Global.

Consequently, the action against Coinbase Europe, Coinbase Inc., and Coinbase Global was dismissed.

The court then considered forum non conveniens for Coinbase Canada Inc., concluding that Ireland was a clearly more appropriate forum given that the plaintiff's claims arose from transactions with Coinbase Europe, which was domiciled in Ireland, and the lack of a class action framework in Ireland was not a decisive juridical disadvantage.

The action against Coinbase Canada Inc. was permanently stayed.

The defendants brought a motion to set aside a Mareva injunction freezing their cryptocurrency assets, which was initially granted without notice in a proposed class action alleging fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation in the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The court found that the plaintiff had made full and frank disclosure and met the test to continue the injunction against the corporate defendants and one individual defendant, citing a strong prima facie case of fraudulent misrepresentation and a serious risk of asset dissipation.

The injunction was set aside for one individual defendant due to insufficient evidence of personal involvement.

The court also exercised its discretion to waive the undertaking for damages for the representative plaintiff, recognizing the public policy benefits of class actions.

In a family law proceeding involving cryptocurrency assets, the applicant brought a long motion regarding disclosure.

The respondents sought leave under Rule 39.02(2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure to file an expert affidavit after having already cross-examined the applicant on her motion materials.

The court dismissed the request for leave, finding the respondents failed to show the evidence responded to a matter raised on cross-examination or provide an adequate explanation for the delay.

The court also ruled on several refusals from questioning, ordering the respondents to answer some questions while upholding other refusals.

The defendants brought a motion to strike the plaintiff's Statement of Claim, which pleaded thirteen causes of action arising from an internet contract for bitcoin investment.

The court found the Statement of Claim to be based on fictionalized facts from the plaintiff's memory rather than the actual contract.

The court struck the Statement of Claim with leave to amend, but specifically struck claims against individual directors, conversion, breach of the Competition Act, and intentional infliction of mental distress without leave to amend.

The claim for breach of Colombian law was struck with leave to amend to properly plead foreign law.

The applicant sought an urgent order to compel the respondent's attendance for cross-examination on an affidavit, following the respondent's refusal to attend due to the applicant's intention to have an expert assist counsel.

The court addressed the respondent's unilateral refusal to attend and the issue of whether leave is required for an expert to assist counsel at an out-of-court examination.

The court found that counsel do not need leave to bring assistants, including experts, to examinations, and that the onus to exclude such individuals lies with the party alleging prejudice.

The respondent's motion to exclude the expert was dismissed, and the respondent was ordered to attend cross-examination.

The plaintiff brought an urgent ex parte motion seeking a preservation order over cryptocurrency, a worldwide Mareva injunction, and an Anton Piller order against the defendants for an outstanding balance of $300,000 USD from a cryptocurrency exchange.

The court granted the preservation order and the Anton Piller order with modifications to protect solicitor-client privilege, but dismissed the Mareva injunction, finding no sufficient risk of asset dissipation to avoid judgment.

The parties separated following incidents of family violence, including the respondent hitting their child and physically and sexually assaulting the applicant.

The applicant sought sole decision-making and supervised parenting time, while the respondent sought equal parenting time and joint decision-making.

The court found the applicant's evidence of family violence credible and ordered that the respondent's parenting time be supervised while inside the home, but permitted unsupervised time outside the home.

The applicant was granted sole decision-making responsibility and a permanent restraining order against the respondent.

The court also imputed rental income to the respondent for child support purposes and ordered him to pay an equalization payment and retroactive child support.

This proposed class action sought an ex parte Mareva injunction to freeze assets, including cryptocurrency, of organizers and participants in the 'Freedom Convoy' protest in downtown Ottawa.

The plaintiffs, residents, businesses, and employees, alleged damages from private and public nuisance.

The court found an apparently strong case for tort liability and a serious risk of asset dissipation, particularly with funds purposely moved to avoid seizure.

The injunction was granted, freezing funds controlled by the defendants, and the requirement for an undertaking for damages was waived due to the public interest and class action nature of the case.

The court also approved an amendment to the statement of claim to expand plaintiff classes and add defendants.

The applicant sought costs following a successful motion for interim spousal support and disclosure of cryptocurrency holdings.

The court reviewed the parties' offers to settle and found the applicant beat her offer regarding spousal support and met her offer regarding native file format disclosure.

The applicant was awarded costs of $104,533 on a substantial recovery basis.

The corporate respondents were successful on a discrete issue regarding a server and were awarded costs of $12,600 on a partial indemnity basis, to be paid from the applicant's costs award.

This decision concerns an ex parte application for search warrants under section 487 of the Criminal Code.

The warrants sought were for safety deposit boxes related to an individual suspected of unauthorized use and mischief of computer data, and an associated person, as part of an investigation known as Project OLUNAR.

The court found that the Information to Obtain (ITO) met all statutory prerequisites, establishing reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged offences occurred and that evidence would be found in the safety deposit boxes.

The court granted the search warrants, citing the seriousness and international scope of the offences, the affiant's full disclosure, and the discovery of relevant documents and keys during a prior search.

Kik Interactive Inc. sought indemnification from AIG Insurance Company of Canada for legal expenses incurred defending an action by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) related to its cryptocurrency, Kin.

Kik argued the SEC claim was a securities claim covered by its AIG PrivateEdge Plus policy.

AIG denied coverage, citing exclusion 4(j) for claims arising from any public offering of securities.

Kik contended the exclusion was ambiguous or, alternatively, that an exception to the exclusion applied.

The court found the exclusion unambiguous, applying to all public offerings of securities, not just initial public offerings of shares.

It also determined that Kik failed to satisfy the conditions for the exception to the exclusion, as it did not provide proper notice or underwriting information, nor did AIG offer additional coverage.

Consequently, Kik's application for indemnification was dismissed.

The applicants, former owners of CryptoGlobal, sought the appointment of an independent inspector to investigate HyperBlock Inc. following an amalgamation.

They alleged oppressive conduct, conflict of interest by HyperBlock's CEO (Sean Walsh) in the acquisition of Project Spokane assets, overvaluation, and a significant post-closing decline in HyperBlock's value not fully explained by market forces.

The court found a prima facie case of oppression and an "index of suspicion" warranting an investigation, citing issues like cash flow irregularities, resignations of financial officers, lack of transparency, and potential conflicts of interest among management and directors.

The court ordered the appointment of BDO Canada Limited as an inspector.

The applicant sought interim child support for an adult child (S.H., age 24) with mental and physical health issues, ongoing university costs, counselling costs, and interim disbursements for legal and expert fees.

The respondent brought a cross-motion seeking a psychological assessment of S.H., disclosure, and an order to file cryptocurrency investment documents under seal or partially redacted due to security risks.

The court found S.H. was entitled to interim child support and some post-secondary education expenses.

It granted reduced interim disbursements to the applicant for legal and expert fees, to be treated as a loan.

The respondent's request for a psychological assessment of S.H. was adjourned to allow S.H. to obtain independent legal advice, and the request for cryptocurrency redaction was granted due to security concerns.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) sought an interpleader order under Rule 43 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for approximately $25.7 million CAD and $69,000 USD.

These "Disputed Funds" were held in accounts related to cryptocurrency transactions facilitated by Costodian Inc. for QuadrigaCX, with some funds transferred to Jose Reyes's personal accounts.

CIBC froze the accounts due to an inability to determine the rightful entitlement among 388 depositors, Costodian, Reyes, Billerfy, and QuadrigaCX, and concerns about money laundering.

The respondents opposed the application, arguing there were no competing claims.

The court found a real foundation for competing claims, both among the respondents themselves and from the depositors, particularly noting the refusal of QuadrigaCX's CEO to confirm if depositors' online wallets had been credited.

The interpleader order was granted, directing the funds to be paid into court, but the court declined to extinguish CIBC's potential liability for its actions in freezing the accounts.