Wellington, New Zealand – Kim Dotcom, the creator of the once-famous file-sharing website Megaupload, lost a 12-year battle this week to stop his deportation from New Zealand to the United States on allegations of copyright infringement, money laundering, and racketeering.
New Zealand’s Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith revealed on Friday that he had decided Dotcom should be handed over to the United States for trial, bringing an end to a long-running legal battle. The date of extradition was not established, and Goldsmith stated that Dotcom would be given “a short period of time to consider and take advice” on the matter.
Kim Dotcom loses 12-year fight to halt deportation from New Zealand to face US copyright case
“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Dotcom said on X this week. He did not clarify, but a member of his legal team, Ira Rothken, posted on the site that a judicial review petition was being draughted, in which a New Zealand judge would be requested to assess Goldsmith’s judgement.
The story goes back to Dotcom’s arrest in 2012 in a dramatic raid on his Auckland residence, along with other company officers. Megaupload earned at least $175 million, according to prosecutors, primarily from those who used the site to illegally download songs, television series, and movies before being shut down by the FBI earlier that year.
Lawyers representing the Finnish-German millionaire and the others accused said that it was the users of the 2005-founded site who opted to pirate material, not its creators. However, prosecutors claimed the men were the architects of a massive criminal business, with the Department of Justice branding it as the greatest criminal copyright case in US history.
The individuals battled the warrant for years, criticising the investigation and arrests, but in 2021, the New Zealand Supreme Court ruled that Dotcom and two other men might be extradited. It was up to the country’s Justice Minister to determine whether to proceed with the extradition.
Three of Goldsmith’s predecessors did not make a decision. Goldsmith was appointed justice minister in November, following the election of New Zealand’s new government.
“I have received extensive advice from the Ministry of Justice on this matter” and carefully evaluated all facts, Goldsmith stated.
“I adore New Zealand.” “I’m not leaving,” German-born Dotcom posted on X Thursday. He did not respond to an Associated Press inquiry for comment.
Kim Dotcom loses 12-year fight to halt deportation from New Zealand to face US copyright case
Two of his former business partners, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, pleaded guilty to charges in a New Zealand court in June 2023 and were sentenced to two and a half years in prison. In exchange, the US stopped its efforts to extradite them.
Prosecutors had previously abandoned their extradition request against Finn Batato, the company’s fourth officer, who was arrested in New Zealand. Batato returned to Germany, where he died of cancer in 2022.
Andrus Nomm, an Estonian Megaupload computer programmer, pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiring to conduct felony copyright infringement and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison in the United States.
SOURCE | AP
