2024-08-15 15:13:08
The German entrepreneur Kim Dotcom could be extradited from New Zealand to the USA. He has been trying to prevent this since 2012.
New Zealand wants to extradite German internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom to the USA. Several media outlets are reporting that New Zealand’s Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has signed an extradition order.
Kim Dotcom is the founder of the share hosting services “Megaupload” and “Mega”. Share hosting services are platforms where users can upload and download files immediately and without registration. These services have been used in the past to illegally share music and films.
US authorities accuse Dotcom of causing $500 million in damages to film studios and record companies with “Megaupload” and at the same time generating more than $175 million in revenue with the website. They also accuse him of copyright infringement, fraud and money laundering. Dotcom has repeatedly denied all allegations.
Dotcom, who was born in Germany, has been living in New Zealand since 2010. He has been fighting extradition to the United States since 2012, after the FBI raided his house in Auckland and the US authorities shut down “Megaupload”. Now he may be extradited after all.
“I have carefully considered all the information and have decided that Mr. Dotcom should be extradited to the United States to face trial,” Attorney General Goldsmith said in a statement. “As is my practice, I have given Mr. Dotcom a short period of time to consider my decision and seek advice.”
Dotcom himself wrote on the platform X: “I love New Zealand. I will not leave.” And captioned the post with a kiss emoji.
Other employees of “Megaupload” have also been in the focus of the judiciary in the past. The company’s marketing director, Finn Batato, and the technical director and co-founder, Mathias Ortmann, both from Germany, as well as a third senior executive, the Dutchman Bram van der Kolk, were arrested together with Dotcom in 2012. Ortmann and van der Kolk have agreed to a settlement under which they will be sentenced to prison terms in New Zealand in 2023, but will not have to be extradited. Batato died in New Zealand in 2022.