Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand-based tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom lashed out at the US government Friday, as his decade-long effort to avoid extradition on fraud and money laundering charges appeared to have failed.
Issued on: 16/08/2024 -
Tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has been battling US attempts to extradite him from New Zealand for years
© MICHAEL BRADLEY / AFP
Local media reported Thursday that New Zealand's justice minister had signed an order to extradite Dotcom, the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing system.
He faces charges including fraud, money laundering and racketeering, punishable with up to 20 years in jail.
Dotcom has long fought extradition while publicly styling himself as a champion of internet freedom and claiming he is being persecuted for political reasons.
He is an outspoken supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and has enthusiastically echoed Kremlin arguments that the war in Ukraine could spark nuclear armageddon.
"I love New Zealand. I'm not leaving," he posted defiantly in a series of posts from Thursday.
"I would do it all over again," he said, while describing the US government as "criminal".
His website -- an early prototype of cloud storage -- was shut down when New Zealand police raided Dotcom's Auckland mansion in January 2012 at the behest of the FBI.
US prosecutors allege the Megaupload service facilitated widespread piracy of films and publications, costing rights holders more than US$500 million.
© 2024 AFP
Local media reported Thursday that New Zealand's justice minister had signed an order to extradite Dotcom, the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing system.
He faces charges including fraud, money laundering and racketeering, punishable with up to 20 years in jail.
Dotcom has long fought extradition while publicly styling himself as a champion of internet freedom and claiming he is being persecuted for political reasons.
He is an outspoken supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and has enthusiastically echoed Kremlin arguments that the war in Ukraine could spark nuclear armageddon.
"I love New Zealand. I'm not leaving," he posted defiantly in a series of posts from Thursday.
"I would do it all over again," he said, while describing the US government as "criminal".
His website -- an early prototype of cloud storage -- was shut down when New Zealand police raided Dotcom's Auckland mansion in January 2012 at the behest of the FBI.
US prosecutors allege the Megaupload service facilitated widespread piracy of films and publications, costing rights holders more than US$500 million.
© 2024 AFP
Internet mogul Kim Dotcom to be extradited from New Zealand to US
Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload, will be extradited from New Zealand to the United States, New Zealand's justice minister said. German-born Dotcom moved to New Zealand in 2010 and has faced potential extradition since his 2012 arrest. The US Justice Department has charged him with criminal copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud.
Issued on: 15/08/2024 -
Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload, will be extradited from New Zealand to the United States, New Zealand's justice minister said. German-born Dotcom moved to New Zealand in 2010 and has faced potential extradition since his 2012 arrest. The US Justice Department has charged him with criminal copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud.
Issued on: 15/08/2024 -
The founder of Megaupload.com, German Kim Dotcom, during a hearing on his extradition to the United States, December 23, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand.
© Michael Bradley, AFP
By:NEWS WIRES
Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, will be extradited to the United States from New Zealand, the New Zealand justice minister said on Thursday.
German-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, has been fighting extradition to the United States since 2012 following a FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed an extradition order for Dotcom, a spokesperson for the Minister of Justice said
“I considered all of the information carefully and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” 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.”
In a post on social media website 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 $175 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 saw them sentenced in 2023 to jail terms in New Zealand but allowed them to avoid extradition. Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.
(Reuters)
By:NEWS WIRES
Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, will be extradited to the United States from New Zealand, the New Zealand justice minister said on Thursday.
German-born Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, has been fighting extradition to the United States since 2012 following a FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed an extradition order for Dotcom, a spokesperson for the Minister of Justice said
“I considered all of the information carefully and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” 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.”
In a post on social media website 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 $175 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 saw them sentenced in 2023 to jail terms in New Zealand but allowed them to avoid extradition. Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.
(Reuters)
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