Kim Dotcom, the mastermind behind the blocking of file-sharing site Megaupload, will be extradited from New Zealand to the US for trial – to which he has defiantly responded: “I’m not leaving.”
New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has ordered the extradition of a German-born New Zealand resident – who has been fighting extradition to the United States since 2012 on charges of setting up an illegal downloading site – to US authorities.
“I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving… don’t worry I have a plan,” he tweeted on Thursday in an apparent response to Goldsmith’s order.
Goldsmith said he was giving Dotcom “a short period of time to consider and advise on his decision,” and declined to comment further on his ruling.
On Tuesday, the prominent internet mogul posted on X: “The obedient American colony in the South Pacific has just decided to extradite me because of what users uploaded to Megaupload.”
U.S. authorities shut down Megaupload more than a decade ago and charged Dotcom, known as Kim Schmitz, with copyright infringement, conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering. Three of his former colleagues were also charged in the case.
Federal authorities allege the wildly popular site, founded by Dotcom in 2005, generated more than $175 million in profits, much of it from people illegally downloading songs, TV shows and movies. U.S. officials say the alleged widespread digital theft cost movie studios and record labels about $500 million.
Dotcom has maintained that he should not be held liable when others chose to use his site to violate the law, and that the case should have been brought in civil — not criminal — courts. He also claimed that he has never lived in, visited, or conducted any business in the United States.
In 2017, Dotcom said after losing the appeal: “New Zealand’s Copyright Act (92B) makes it clear that an ISP cannot be held criminally liable for the actions of its users.” “Unless you’re Kim Dotcom?” The High Court disagreed, arguing that under New Zealand law, the conduct could be classified as fraud, opening the way for Dotcom to be extradited.
The Auckland internet entrepreneur was arrested in 2012 during a police raid on his mansion. He was held in jail for a month before being released on bail. Since then, he and his co-defendants have been fighting extradition to New Zealand, taking their case to the New Zealand Court of Appeal.
He then relaunched the business as Mega in 2013 under a New Zealand domain but has not been involved since 2015. Mega, now run by a New Zealander, calls itself the “online privacy” site.
New Zealand’s High Court first approved Dotcom’s extradition in 2017, a decision that was upheld in 2018. The High Court again confirmed his extradition in 2020 but allowed for further judicial review.
Two of Dotcom’s co-defendants, Mathias Ortman and Bram van der Kolk, reached a plea agreement and were sentenced to prison in 2023 and avoided extradition. The third co-defendant, Finn Patato, died in New Zealand in 2022.
Doctom’s attorney, Ira Rothkin, said in a post on X that his team is “working on a Supreme Court judicial review.”
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