Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is to be extradited
Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, may have to leave his home of New Zealand soon. The country's justice minister has signed an order for his extradition to the US, where he faces charges of copyright infringement. However, the German-born entrepreneur has "a plan".
After more than a decade, New Zealand is making another attempt to extradite internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz, to the US. New Zealand's justice minister, Paul Goldsmith, has signed an extradition order for Dotcom, according to media reports citing the minister.
"I have carefully reviewed the information and decided that Mr. Dotcom should be extradited to the US to face trial," Goldsmith said. He added, "As is customary, I have given Mr. Dotcom a brief period to consider my decision and seek advice. I will not be making any further comment at this time."
Before the announcement by New Zealand's justice minister, Dotcom had hinted that he would be extradited soon. Early this week, he wrote on X that New Zealand had decided to extradite him "for what users uploaded to Megaupload without permission," according to "Die Zeit".
Dotcom - A Megastar Around the Millennium
In February 2017, a New Zealand court ruled that Dotcom could be extradited to the US - but not for copyright infringement, for fraud. While two courts initially upheld the ruling, the country's highest court later criticized legal errors and an "excessive use of force" against the entrepreneur, according to "Die Zeit".
Kim Dotcom was born in Kiel in 1974 and moved to New Zealand in 2010. Under the pseudonym Kimble, he gained notoriety as a hacker in the 1990s. In the 1990s, he was a well-known figure in the New Economy. As an entrepreneur, he was celebrated around the turn of the millennium, surrounded himself with celebrities like rappers or models, threw huge parties, made music, and even founded a political party. He had already had trouble with the law in Germany as early as 2002, when he was sentenced to a suspended sentence by the Munich District Court for insider trading in shares.
In 2005, Dotcom founded the platform Megaupload, where internet users could upload and download files for free. According to the US Department of Justice, the site was explicitly used as a marketplace for copyrighted content such as movies, TV series, and other files. In January 2012, US authorities shut down the website. New Zealand police searched Dotcom's Auckland residence at the US's request, seized artworks and luxury cars, and Dotcom was temporarily detained.
Megaupload's Massive Damage
According to "Der Spiegel", he and three other suspects have since fought legally against extradition to the US. Two suspects agreed to trials in New Zealand and avoided extradition to the US by pleading guilty and being sentenced to prison terms of more than two years each in 2023. A third suspect died in 2022.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation considers Megaupload's activities the largest case of copyright infringement in US history. The platform reportedly generated $175 million (€159 million) in profits, with damages estimated at at least $500 million (€455 million), according to "Die Zeit".
Dotcom reacted to the signing of the extradition order on X with the words: "I love New Zealand. I won't go." He also mentioned that he has "a plan". However, he did not reveal what it is.
The New Zealand justice minister, Paul Goldsmith, stated that he has given Kim Dotcom a brief period to consider his decision to extradite him to the US. The Commission, represented by minister Goldsmith, has signed an extradition order for Dotcom due to charges of copyright infringement against him in the US.
