The warrant was issued at the behest of the Australian Taxation Office. Wright, a computer scientist and businessman, headed a group of companies associated with cryptocurrency and online security. As one set of agents scoured his kitchen cupboards and emptied out his garage, another entered his main company headquarters at 32 Delhi Road in North Ryde. The warrant listed dozens of companies whose papers were to be scrutinised, and 32 individuals, some with alternative names, or alternative spellings.
Some of the neighbours say the Wrights were a little distant. He had already taken the computers away the day before the raid. Stefan immediately moved Wright and his wife into a luxury apartment at the Meriton World Tower in Sydney. No one was sure what to do when the police entered.
The staff were gathered in the middle of the room and told by the officers not to go near their computers or use their phones. The reporters were sniffing at a strange story β a story too complicated for her to explain β so she just told everyone that damp in the Gordon house had forced them to move out.
The place they moved into, a tall apartment building, was right in the city and Wright felt as if he was on holiday. Reading the articles on his laptop, Wright knew his old life was over.
By this point, cameras and reporters were outside his former home and his office. They had long heard rumours, but the Gizmodo and Wired stories had sent the Australian media into a frenzy. Ramona turned to Wright and told him to get the hell out. They were on the 63rd floor. It occurred to him that the police might be coming up in the elevator, so he went down to the 61st floor, where there were office suites and a swimming pool. Ramona left the apartment shortly after Wright.
