A businessman from Pimlico has been accused of pretending to be the inventor of Bitcoin in a private prosecution alleging crypto fraud.
Stephen Mollah, 58, is said to have posed as ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’, the mysterious founder of the digital currency, while allegedly falsely claiming to own 165,000 Bitcoin in Singapore.
He is facing a criminal trial alongside Charles Anderson, a 67-year-old from New Malden, as they are jointly accused of fraud between November 2022 and October last year.
The case is being mounted in a private prosecution by Dalmit Dohil, the alleged victim.
Mollah, of Udall Street in Pimlico, and Anderson, of Kings Avenue in New Malden, both pleaded not guilty to a single charge of fraud by false representation at a hearing last month at Inner London crown court.
The men were set free on unconditional bail by Judge Nigel Peters KC, with a trial set for November 3, 2025.
According to the charge, it is alleged the men “dishonestly” claimed that “Stephen Mollah was Satoshi Nakamoto who is believed to have created Bitcoin and/or that Stephen Mollah owned 165,000 Bitcoin that were in Singapore, intending to cause loss to Dalmit Dohil or to expose that person to a risk of loss.”
The not guilty pleas were first indicated when the case was brought to the magistrates court in August.
A further hearing in the case ahead of the trial has been set for October 3 next year.
The identity of ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ has captivated the internet since Bitcoin was first created in 2009. If still in control of their bitcoin wallet, they would have an estimated $69 billion fortune and be the 20th richest person in the world.
This week, Canadian developer Peter Todd was the latest person to deny being Satoshi, in response to an HBO documentary claiming to have identified the inventor.
