New Zealand Approves Extradition of Kim Dotcom to United States
Kim Dotcom, an entrepreneur facing charges related to the file-sharing website Megaupload, has been battling extradition for over a decade.
New Zealand’s justice minister has approved the extradition of Kim Dotcom, who is charged with crimes associated with Megaupload, to the United States.
German-born Dotcom, whose real name is Kim Schmitz, has been fighting extradition from New Zealand since 2012 in connection with the now-defunct Megaupload, which started its operations in 2005.
He shared an article on social media platform X announcing the extradition agreement and wrote: “Oops. Don’t worry I have a plan.”
He later added, “I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving.”
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has signed an extradition order for Dotcom.
“I carefully assessed all the information and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial,” Goldsmith said in a statement.
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“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.”
Dotcom Criticizes New Zealand
Earlier this week, Dotcom criticized the New Zealand government in a post on X.
In January 2012, the Department of Justice indicted Dotcom, six other individuals, and two companies, Megaupload Limited and Vestor Ltd., for “massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works.”
U.S. authorities claim that Dotcom and his co-accused made money by charging users of the website to store and share copyrighted material owned by film studios and record companies.
Dotcom and several other senior executives at Megaupload relocated to New Zealand in 2010.
The company’s co-founder, Mathias Ortmann, and chief marketing officer, Finn Batato, were arrested in 2012, along with Dutch executive Bram van der Kolk.
Ortmann and van der Kolk eventually reached plea deals, resulting in jail sentences in 2023 in New Zealand but allowing them to avoid extradition.
Batato passed away in 2022, also in New Zealand.
In 2012, the FBI requested New Zealand authorities to raid Dotcom’s residence in Auckland, New Zealand.
Dotcom’s legal team has been contesting the extradition process for over a decade.
The Supreme Court later upheld the lower court’s decision, but no action was taken during the tenure of the Labour Party government of Jacinta Ardern or her successor, Chris Hipkins.
In October 2023, Labour lost the general election, and the conservative National Party took over, with a coalition with a smaller right-wing party, ACT.
Luxon Keen to Improve US Relations
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited Washington in July for the NATO summit and met with members of Congress.
“While I’m here today, it’s really a big focus on the bilateral relationship with the U.S. and actually deepening and broadening those connections and those relationships,” Luxon said.
It is unclear if Campbell and Luxon specifically discussed the Dotcom case.
In the early 2000s, sites like Megaupload—such as Napster and The Pirate Bay—allegedly violated international copyright laws regarding films, music, and computer games.
Napster was shut down in 2001—though the brand was later sold and relaunched as a legitimate, subscription-based service—while The Pirate Bay was eventually closed in 2012.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Dotcom for a comment but has not yet received a response.
Reuters contributed to this report.
