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New Zealand has signed an order to extradite Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to the US, 12 years after the raid over piracy at the file sharing site.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said in a statement that he’d made the decision after “carefully” weighing the facts. Dotcom will have some time to “consider and take advice” on the order, the official added.
In responses on X, Kim Dotcom said he has “a plan” and that he’s “not leaving,” although he didn’t elaborate on how he would try to defy the order.
I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving 😘
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 15, 2024
The FBI ordered a raid on Dotcom’s Auckland home in 2012 over allegations Megaupload enabled copyright infringement by failing to police uploaded content. The entrepreneur has also been charged with money laundering and racketeering.
Kim Dotcom (née Kim Schmitz) has long claimed that he’s innocent of the copyright charges as internet services in the US and New Zealand aren’t held responsible for the content their users post. He accused the US of persecuting him on behalf of the media industry. However, critics have noted that a large amount of Megaupload’s files were pirated, suggesting that he was aware of (and thus deliberately ignoring) the lawbreaking on his platform.
New Zealand’s high court has also said that Dotcom’s behavior could be considered fraud and thus eligible for extradition. Two of the executives involved with Megaupload, Bram van der Kolk and Mathias Ortmann, made plea deals that sent them to prison in New Zealand rather than face extradition.
An extradition and potential conviction wouldn’t have much practical effect at this stage. The FBI seized and shut down Megaupload in 2012, and it was reborn as Mega in 2013. Dotcom cut his links with that service in 2015. However, they would be symbolic victories for the US after more than a decade of trying to put Megaupload’s creator behind bars.
