Kim Dotcom loses 12-year battle against extradition
New Zealand ready to send boss of defunct file-sharing site Megaupload to US to face charges
PUBLISHED : 15 Aug 2024
WRITER: Reuters
Tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, shown above at a court hearing in Auckland, New Zealand in September 2015, faces charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering in the United States related to his now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload. (Photo: Reuters)
WELLINGTON - Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, has lost a 12-year battle against extradition to the United States.
New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has signed an extradition order for Dotcom, a spokesperson for the minister said on Thursday.
Germany-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, has been fighting extradition to the US since 2012 following an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion.
“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” Mr Goldsmith said in a statement.
“As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not, therefore, be commenting further at this stage.”
WELLINGTON - Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, has lost a 12-year battle against extradition to the United States.
New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has signed an extradition order for Dotcom, a spokesperson for the minister said on Thursday.
Germany-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, has been fighting extradition to the US since 2012 following an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion.
“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” Mr Goldsmith said in a statement.
“As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not, therefore, be commenting further at this stage.”
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In a post on X on Tuesday, Dotcom said “the obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload”, in what appears to be a reference to the extradition order.
Reuters could not immediately contact Dotcom for a response.
US authorities say Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material, which generated more than copy75 million in revenue for the website.
The company’s chief marketing officer Finn Batato and chief technical officer and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, both from Germany, along with a third executive Dutch national Bram van der Kolk were arrested with Dotcom in 2012.
Ortmann and van der Kolk entered plea deals that resulted in them being sentenced in 2023 to jail terms in New Zealand but allowed them to avoid extradition. Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.
Dotcom's battle to avoid US trial goes live
Dotcom demands live-stream of extradition appeal
In a post on X on Tuesday, Dotcom said “the obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload”, in what appears to be a reference to the extradition order.
Reuters could not immediately contact Dotcom for a response.
US authorities say Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material, which generated more than copy75 million in revenue for the website.
The company’s chief marketing officer Finn Batato and chief technical officer and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, both from Germany, along with a third executive Dutch national Bram van der Kolk were arrested with Dotcom in 2012.
Ortmann and van der Kolk entered plea deals that resulted in them being sentenced in 2023 to jail terms in New Zealand but allowed them to avoid extradition. Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.
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