Judge tells estranged 'Crypto-Couple' that they will bankrupt each other

Gordon Deegan

A judge has told an estranged married couple - who own in excess of €500,000 in Crypto-currency and additional gold and silver bullion reserves - that they are probably going to bankrupt each other “and ye will end up with nothing”.

At the family law court, Judge Alec Gabbett told the two that they “need to dial it down” as it appears that the two “will fight to the death at this point”.

He said: “I have rarely come across a case as emotive as this and I have never seen two people as emotionally charged as the two of you in court.”

The husband told the court that the couple have €1.3 million in assets frozen in a European country currently.

The two separated a number of years ago and have been engaged in various legal battles in different countries concerning their divorce.

Judge Gabbett said: “This case is a monster. It is a monster. Ye have created a monster between the two of ye, and I am apportioning the blame equally in that sense.”

Judge Gabbett said that the couple are “two highly intelligent, well-educated people” but

He told the man “you are totally and utterly deluded in some ways in relation to some aspects of this and that concerns - you could lose your very good job”.

The wife was seeking a Safety Order and Judge Gabbett has granted the woman a Safety Order for three years against her estranged husband.

Judge Gabbett said: "I am very concerned about her welfare and the child’s welfare in a situation where there is no protection of some sort.”

Judge Gabbett said that there are no allegations of physical violence against the man in the case.

The judge told the man: “You are coming up with all sorts of schemes to bring her down and that is the part that worries me the most. I am granting a Safety Order for three years that covers you are a child.”

The wife said that the couple had been early investors in Crypto Currency. She said: “We had amassed quite a large amount of money.”

The husband said that all the investment was made with his salary.

Asked by Judge Gabbett how much cryptocurrency is involved, the woman said “we are talking about in excess of €500,000”.

The woman said that Crypto Currency investment involved 6.6 Bitcoin, which she said is alone worth currently probably €250,000.

She said: “There is a colossal amount of Dogecoin which were worthless when we bought it but are now worth also in the hundreds of thousands of euro.

She added: “There is Bitcoin cash, there is Litecoin - all of these have considerable value - there is €70,000 to-€80,000 in Litecoin.”

The woman said: “In addition, I had considerable investment in gold and silver bullion that were being held physically in a vault in Switzerland. That vault has been frozen to me because of his activities.”

Both the man and woman made claims and counter claims that each other had put the cryptocurrency beyond the reach of each other pending the outcome of the divorce proceedings.

The woman said: "I am forced to fight legal battles in three countries with no resources.” Judge Gabbett said that it will for another judge to decide who gets what in the divorce settlement.

The woman told the court: “I am not here because I enjoy being here. I am here because I am in genuine fear.  I am genuine fear for myself, I am genuine fear for my child. I never thought I would live without a penny."

The woman said that she never thought she would have to install security cameras at her home.

The man said that he has never harassed his ex-wife and agreed that his case was that his ex-wife shouldn’t be frightened of him because there is nothing to be frightened of.

The woman made allegations of constant gaslighting, coercion, isolation, financial control by her ex-husband and in evidence he denied all these allegations.

Judge Gabbett ordered that the man have access to the couple’s child while in Ireland.