Kim Dotcom “Has A Plan”, After NZ Signs Extradition Warrant

There has been a notable legal development in the protracted extradition case of Kim Dotcom, the colourful founder of the defunct Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload.

Reuters reported that the New Zealand justice minister said on Thursday that Kim Dotcom will be extradited from New Zealand to the United States.

German-born Kim Dotcom has New Zealand residency, but for the past 12 years has been engaged in fierce legal battle against his extradition to the United States, after a FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion back in 2012.

Dotcom has a plan

“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who signed an extradition order for Dotcom, was quoted as saying.

“As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not, therefore, be commenting further at this stage,” Goldsmith was quoted as saying.

Kim Dotcom however quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to deliver his response, tweeting “I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving 😘”.

He also tweeted he has a “plan”, but did not mention what this entails.

Megaupload case

Kim Dotcom was at the centre of a global FBI operation that took down the file-sharing website Megaupload, which at one stage had attracted 4 percent of the world’s internet traffic thanks to its easy access to copyrighted films, music, television shows and video games.

US authorities had alleged that Megaupload CEO Dotcom, CTO Mathias Ortmann, as well as Bram van der Kolk (head of software programming and the rewards scheme), and marketing director Finn Batato had cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million and generated more than $175 million by encouraging paying users to store and share copyrighted material.

Megaupload was closed down in early 2012 after the FBI applied for an indictment against the website and its operators for racketeering, conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, and other charges.

Finn Batato died of cancer, and Ortmann and van der Kolk struck a deal in which they pleaded guilty and serve their prison time in New Zealand.

Kim Dotcom

The trial and extradition case of Kim Dotcom over the years has been entertaining to say the least.

He insisted on bringing his own chair into a New Zealand court room, citing “ergonomic reasons”, and even at one point filed an application for former US President Barack Obama to appear in the NZ court during his visit to the country.

When Megaupload was closed down in 2012, Dotcom had been arrested by New Zealand police on orders from the US. His mansion in New Zealand had also been raided.

However Dotcom repeatedly won subsequent legal tussles that delayed his extradition to the United States.

For example in June 2012, a New Zealand High Court declared the search warrants used in the raid on Dotcom’s mansion were “invalid”. Then in May 2013, Dotcom regained access to evidence seized during those raids.

And in September 2012, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, apologised to Dotcom for unlawfully spying on him. New Zealand law prohibits spying on citizens or those who, like Dotcom, have a residence class visa.

Kim Dotcom took his battle against his extradition to the US to the Supreme Court in New Zealand in June 2019.

In November 2020, New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruled that Dotcom could be returned to the US to face copyright charges.

But the NZ Supreme court at the time also overturned another lower court’s decision, which had effectively granted Dotcom the right to appeal.

Dotcom has always made clear he is not going to leave New Zealand voluntarily, so it remains to be seen what his “plan” will entail.