customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

New Zealand’s High Court ruled Monday that Kim Dotcom was eligible for extradition to the United States over online piracy allegations linked to his now-defunct Megaupload web empire.
But defence lawyers immediately vowed to appeal the decision and maintain the long-running battle to stop Dotcom being sent for trial in the US.
“We are far from defeated,” Dotcom’s barrister Ron Mansfield said in a statement.
The last hurdle to what we say is the correct outcome – no extradition – will now need to be determined by the Court of Appeal
Ron Mansfield, Dotcom’s barrister
Dotcom himself lashed out at the judgment on Twitter, arguing he had proved his central legal point that copyright is not an extraditable offence.
“It’s a political case. It’s a political judgment,” he tweeted. “I told you I can’t be extradited for copyright and I was right. What is this? Sharia law?”
The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated content.
Dotcom has denied any wrongdoing and accused US authorities of pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of politically influential Hollywood studios. He has argued Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site that did its best to police copyright infringement but had 50 million daily users and could not control every aspect of their activity.
Dotcom, a German with permanent residency in New Zealand, faces decades in jail if convicted in the US of piracy.
He was first arrested more than five years ago when armed police staged a dawn raid on his mansion near Auckland as the FBI shut down Megaupload’s servers in the US.
Since then, the fight to avoid extradition has become a war of legal attrition, resulting in numerous court hearings and appeals.
In Monday’s decision, High Court judge Murray Gilbert upheld an earlier District Court ruling that there was “overwhelming” evidence to extradite Dotcom and his three co-accused.
Gilbert accepted Dotcom’s argument that copyright infringement was not a criminal offence under New Zealand law, so he could not be extradited for it. But he said there was enough evidence to put Dotcom on trial for criminal fraud, meaning he could be sent to America.
I told you I can’t be extradited for copyright and I was right. What is this? Sharia law?
Kim Dotcom
Mansfield said the extradition decision was “extremely disappointing” but the copyright finding was a crucial legal point that could overturn the ruling.
“The last hurdle to what we say is the correct outcome – no extradition – will now need to be determined by the Court of Appeal,” he said. “We remain confident that this last point, which would prevent extradition in this complex and unprecedented legal case, will be resolved in Kim’s favour.”
Born Kim Schmitz in Kiel, northern Germany in 1974, Dotcom changed his name in 2005, around the same time he established Megaupload.
The website was an early example of cloud computing, allowing users to upload large files onto a server so others could easily download them without clogging up their email systems.
At its height in 2011, Megaupload claimed to have 50 million daily users and account for 4 per cent of the world’s internet traffic.
The problem, according to an FBI indictment, was that many of the files shared were copyright-protected films and music.
Dotcom’s wealth allowed him to move to New Zealand under an investment scheme in 2010, despite a chequered past as a hacker and an insider trading conviction that would normally have kept him out.


Elon Musk says Twitter to restrict who can vote on policy after own poll says he should go as CEO

New Zealand top court lets tech exile Kim Dotcom appeal extradition order to US

Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom loses New Zealand appeal to avoid extradition to US

Kim Dotcom reveals New Zealand city that’s becoming millionaires’ doomsday hide out

Kim Dotcom

New Zealand court rules Kim Dotcom eligible for US extradition to face online piracy charges

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Australasia

FBI alleges Megaupload website netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated content
