Megaupload: New Zealand wants to extradite Kim Dotcom to the USA

The New Zealand Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith has informed Kim Dotcom that he will extradite him to the USA. This was reported by the New Zealand magazine Stuff. Goldsmith has signed an arrest warrant, but Dotcom can appeal against it. The former owner of the share host Megaupload commented on the process on X with the words: "Oops 😬 Don't worry, I have a plan 😉" He loves New Zealand and will not leave the country.

The Kiel native, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, has lived in New Zealand for 14 years. At the time, he was a co-founder of Megaupload. At the instigation of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Megaupload went offline at the beginning of 2012, the New Zealand police arrested Dotcom and searched his property. Dotcom has so far been able to fend off efforts by US prosecutors to have him extradited.

USA sees half a billion US dollars in damages

The USA accuses Dotcom and other defendants of being responsible for "massive worldwide copyright infringements" as operators of the share host Megaupload, the streaming platform Megavideo and other websites. The defendants are said to have made a total turnover of around 175 million US dollars. The US Department of Justice estimates the damage to rights holders at over 500 million US dollars. In February 2018, a court in New Zealand ruled that Dotcom could not be extradited for copyright infringement, but could be extradited for fraud.

During the raid in 2012, three other men were arrested alongside Dotcom. One has since died, two were sentenced last year to two years and seven and two years and six months in prison respectively. Their sentences were more lenient as the two pleaded guilty, helped the FBI and wanted to testify against Dotcom, among other things.

(anw)