Kim Dotcom Eligible For Extradition To U.S.

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom is eligible to be extradited to the United States to face charges of alleged conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering, the New Zealand High Court found Feb. 20.

New Zealand Herald via AP, file – Kim Dotcom
Speaking during the Intelligence and Security select committee hearing at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand.

If convicted he and three others could face up to 20 years in jail. The latest hearing came five years after U.S. authorities shut down the Megaupload file-sharing website he operated.

Justice Murray Gilbert had been asked to overturn the decision of an earlier ruling. He agreed with Dotcom’s defense that New Zealand has no “copyright” crime that could trigger the extradition process. But he also found the case was one of “fraud,” an extraditable offence.

The FBI alleged the site netted more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than $500 million by offering pirated content.

Dotcom insists Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site but one which could not police the activities of its users because it drew 50 million each day.

Dotcom’s barrister Ron Mansfield called the High Court decision “extremely disappointing” but planned to appeal the extradition order in the “politically charged and misunderstood case”.

German-born Dotcom, who has had permanent residency in New Zealand since November 2010, faces a 20-year jail term if convicted in the United States of piracy.

In an interview with the NZ Herald, Dotcom called the ruling a “victory” because the charges against him did not include fraud, and he said he would be vindicated by an appeals court.