Police Raid Craig Wright’s Home

Wednesday December 09,2015  : BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:
 
The Guardian newspaper in Australia has published an exclusive report claiming that Australian federal police raided Wright's home and office Wednesday, possibly motived by the earlier exposes and speculation that he was the Bitcoin founder.
 
"More than 10 police personnel arrived at the house in the Sydney suburb of Gordon at about 1.30pm," the Guardian reports. "Two police staff wearing white gloves could be seen from the street searching the cupboards and surfaces of the garage. At least three more were seen from the front door."
 
However, the Australian Federal police said in a statement that the raids were not related to the bitcoin claims.
 
“The AFP can confirm it has conducted search warrants to assist the Australian Taxation Office at a residence in Gordon and a business premises in Ryde, Sydney," the statement declared. "This matter is unrelated to recent media reporting regarding the digital currency bitcoin.”
 
Neighbours indicated that Wright was not in residence and had not been for some weeks, and that he had given notice of intention to vacate the rented house in the first week of December 2015 in order to move to London, England. Wright subsequently extended the lease by an extra week, taking it to the first week of January 2016.
 
A spokeswoman for the Australian Tax Office was unable to confirm whether the meetings with the ATO and Wright had taken place due to “obligations around confidentiality under the law”.
 
Bitcoin was trading at around $416 when we went to press Wednesday morning.