Guidance for making a claim against person/s unknown

[Billie jeans]

Hi All,

I am seeking guidance on how a claim against person/s unknown would be pursued where the identities of the defendants can only be disclosed by a third party who is not party to proceedings, in this case the Bristol Police hold the relevant information which was obtained during investigations into a reported cryptocurrency fraud. They are no longer pursuing the case as they state that the alleged fraudsters are outside of UK jurisdiction. This is why civil action is being taken however, I can't find any information that outlines the procedure for starting a claim against unknown defendant/s with the aim of applying for a Non-party Disclosure order to reveal the identities of the defend/s in the case.

A REQUEST FOR DISCLOSURE UNDER SCHEDULE 2 PART 1 5(3) OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT 2018 was made to the Bristol Police, which resulted in a response stating that they would only disclose the information when served with a court order.

As the police are not and will not be part of the proceedings, pre action disclosure is out of the question and applications for an NPO or BTO will not meet the tests set out by a judge, mainly being; 'the respondent is “mixed up” in the wrongdoing, in the sense of being more than a mere witness.'


Further information on the case;

- This involves a cryptocurrency fraud where a large amount of cryptocurrency was stolen and moved to two well known cryptocurrency exchanges
- The police received account details from two cryptocurrency exchanges, which includes; KYC Data, Withdrawal information, IP Addresses, Account information as well as Passport copies of the account holders
- In order to further track the movement of the assets, with the aim of obtaining a freezing injunction this information is required
-In order to take action against the alleged fraudsters, their identities are also required.


Any help with how best to proceed with a claim against person/s unknown would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[echat11]

Hi Billie Jeans

I would state from the 'outset' that you need to contact a solicitor ( pro bono )that deals in criminal matters.

You state the following,

'in this case the Bristol Police hold the relevant information which was obtained during investigations into a reported cryptocurrency fraud'

how do you know they actually have the information they state they have? Have they told you they have names of individuals?

They may well have names, but they could be 'aliases' to commit the fraud. You would need a name / names to start a Civil claim.

Also the costs of pursuing a claim might outweigh what is recovered because of the international element.

The following might help -

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidanc...-third-parties