The New Zealand government has approved the extradition of Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, to the United States.
On Thursday, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that he had signed the extradition order for Dotcom, who has been embroiled in legal disputes since his arrest in 2012 during a dramatic FBI-led raid on his Auckland mansion. The charges against him include racketeering conspiracy, copyright infringement, and money laundering.
Dotcom, who has consistently maintained his innocence, said that Megaupload was merely a file-sharing platform, arguing that he had no control over the content uploaded by its users.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he and his associates facilitated a ‘vast piracy operation’ that cost Hollywood elites’ film studios and record companies more than $500 million, generating over $175 million in revenue from illicit activities.
Dotcom, w, took to social media platform X to express his discontent with the decision.
“The obedient U.S. colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload, unsolicited, and what copyright holders were able to remove with direct delete access instantly and without question. But who cares? That’s justice these days.” he wrote, highlighting his belief that he is being unfairly targeted for actions beyond his control.
He further emphasized his commitment to fighting these charges by stating, “Oops. Don’t worry I have a plan,” adding, “I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving.”
Oops Don’t worry I have a plan pic.twitter.com/1ow9drHcfv
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 15, 2024
I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 15, 2024
Ira Rothken, Dotcom’s attorney, said they are going to appeal the decision.
He wrote:
Our legal team is working on judicial review to the High Court for Kim Dotcom in NZ.
After 12+ years of injustice:
-Illegal Gov raid on family home
-Illegal spying (PM apologized)
-Withholding of evidence
-Destruction of evidence
-US blocked legal funding
-US judge recused himself
-Fair trial in US impossibleThe fight for justice continues.
The world is watching.
Our legal team is working on judicial review to the High Court for @KimDotcom in NZ.
After 12+ years of injustice:
-Illegal Gov raid on family home
-Illegal spying (PM apologized)
-Withholding of evidence
-Destruction of evidence
-US blocked legal funding
-US judge recused…— Ira Rothken (@rothken) August 15, 2024
Forbes reported:
Dotcom, a German citizen, moved to New Zealand in 2010 after founding Megaupload with Mathias Ortmann in Hong Kong in 2005. New Zealand officials raided Dotcom’s home in Auckland in 2012 following a request from the FBI, who shut down Megaupload after Dotcom’s arrest.
Megaupload was relaunched as a new company, Mega, under a New Zealand domain name in 2013, though Dotcom has reportedly had no involvement with the site since at least 2015. Dotcom has denied all wrongdoing and appealed a ruling by a New Zealand judge in 2017 to extradite him to the U.S., though his appeal was denied a year later.
In 2020, New Zealand’s Supreme Court reaffirmed Dotcom’s extradition order, but allowed for a new round of judicial review before it became official. Megaupload programmer Andrus Nomm pleaded guilty to a copyright infringement charge in 2015 and was sentenced to one year and one day in U.S. prison.
Ortmann and Bram van Der Kolk, who oversaw Megaupload’s programming, reached a plea agreement with the U.S. in 2022 to instead face charges in New Zealand instead of being extradited. That same year, the U.S. dropped an extradition request for Finn Batato, Megaupload’s chief marketing officer.
The Gateway Pundit has reached out to Kim Dotcom for a comment.
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