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Canadian financial institution has frozen millions of dollars and cryptocurrency implicated to Ottawa demonstrations organizers.
In Ontario, a Supreme Court has extended the injunction to freeze millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies and other financial donations related to the so-called Freedom Convoy. The Mareva motion was issued on February 17 by Justice Calum MacLeod.
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The Mareva order was extended until March 9 on Monday by MacLeod to give the defendants more time to consult with their lawyer. The injunction deprived convoy organizers and fundraisers from "selling, removing, dissipating, alienating, transferring, assigning" assets up to $20 million, according to the proposed class-action lawsuit led by Ottawa public servant Zexi Li.
The class action comprises Union Local 613 and local business Happy Goat Coffee, plus server Geoffrey Devaney, as plaintiffs, and brought another injunction that helped silence incessant horn honking as hundreds of truckers and protesters poured into the nation's capital in late January.
The injunction orders to freeze funds from organizers, such as Patrick King, Tamara Lich, Christopher Garrah, Nicholas St. Louis, Benjamin Dichter, and the non-profit Freedom 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms. The respondents should provide a sworn statement within a period of seven days where they describe all assets (including cryptocurrencies) donated globally related to and intended to fund the convoy protests in Ottawa.
Canada's decision to freeze bank accounts highlights that now more than ever, it’s clear that Americans should have a right to financial privacy to protect themselves from unjust intrusions.@EconWithNick explains: https://t.co/4pmciN9biV #catoecon pic.twitter.com/2H0QFeucRj
— Cato CMFA (@CatoCMFA) February 28, 2022
The injunction targeted banks, financial businesses, fundraising, and cryptocurrency platforms, or those who manage cryptocurrency wallets aimed to freeze the assets. Entities such as TD Canada Trust, Adopt-a-Trucker, GoFundMe Inc., Bull Bitcoin, and TallyCoin, among others were targetted as well.
On Monday, law firm Lenczner Slaght disclosed that none of the organizers had presented the asset statements to this point. "Whether or not they have to provide them will be decided at our next attendance on March 9," said a spokesperson.
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