New Zealand is all set to extradite Kim Dotcom to the United States following approval by the justice minister on Thursday.&nbsp;

Kim Dotcom was born in Germany, but he has New Zealand residency. Kim has been fighting his extradition to the United States since 2012 for 12 years. He is facing charges connected to his file-sharing site Megaupload, which was put down by the US government authorities in the same year.&nbsp;

The Justice Minister of New Zealand, Paul Goldsmith, signed an extradition order for Kim Dotcom, paving the way for his deportation. According to the government statement on Thursday, Goldsmith said, “I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial.” 
 
He added, “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.”

Also Read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thailands-pheu-thai-party-chooses-paetongtarn-shinawatra-as-pm-candidate-750429">Thailand's Pheu Thai party chooses Paetongtarn Shinawatra as PM candidate</a>|

However, on Thursday, Kim Dotcom took to X (previously Twitter), and wrote: “I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving.”

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving 😘
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1824000525500584077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Kim Dotcom is the founder of Megaupload, a website that allows millions of users to store their files in an online locker and share them with others. Shortly after his website was put down, he was arrested by the New Zealand Police who arrived at his luxury mansion in Auckland with two marked helicopters and had to force their way to the secured room he was in.&nbsp;

Along with three co-accused, Dotcom was charged by a US grand jury on several charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to infringe copyright, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and money laundering. The US authorities have charged the four accused men of profiting from copyright infringement through their website.&nbsp;

The four accused men, including Kim Dotcom, have been denying the accusations and have been fighting against extradition to the US, arguing their website Megaupload was just a simple file-sharing website. They shouldn't be blamed for the content or files uploaded by the users.&nbsp;

Three New Zealand courts ruled against them and rejected their arguments and claims that they could not be extradited on the charge of profiting from copyright infringement because the crime did not occur in the country. The final decision on the extradition of Kim Dotcom rested with the Justice Minister.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

New Zealand is all set to extradite Kim Dotcom to the United States following approval by the justice minister on Thursday. Kim Dotcom was born in Germany, but he has New Zealand residency.

New Zealand is all set to extradite Kim Dotcom to the United States following approval by the justice minister on Thursday. Kim Dotcom was born in Germany, but he has New Zealand residency. Kim has been fighting his extradition to the United States since 2012 for 12 years. He is facing charges connected to his file-sharing site Megaupload, which was put down by the US government authorities in the same year. The Justice Minister of New Zealand, Paul Goldsmith, signed an extradition order for Kim Dotcom, paving the way for his deportation. According to the government statement on Thursday, Goldsmith said, “I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial.” He added, “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.” Also Read|Thailand's Pheu Thai party chooses Paetongtarn Shinawatra as PM candidate| However, on Thursday, Kim Dotcom took to X (previously Twitter), and wrote: “I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving.” I love New Zealand. I’m not leaving 😘 — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 15, 2024 × Kim Dotcom is the founder of Megaupload, a website that allows millions of users to store their files in an online locker and share them with others. Shortly after his website was put down, he was arrested by the New Zealand Police who arrived at his luxury mansion in Auckland with two marked helicopters and had to force their way to the secured room he was in. Along with three co-accused, Dotcom was charged by a US grand jury on several charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to infringe copyright, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and money laundering. The US authorities have charged the four accused men of profiting from copyright infringement through their website. The four accused men, including Kim Dotcom, have been denying the accusations and have been fighting against extradition to the US, arguing their website Megaupload was just a simple file-sharing website. They shouldn't be blamed for the content or files uploaded by the users. Three New Zealand courts ruled against them and rejected their arguments and claims that they could not be extradited on the charge of profiting from copyright infringement because the crime did not occur in the country. The final decision on the extradition of Kim Dotcom rested with the Justice Minister. (With inputs from agencies)

Who is Kim Dotcom? New Zealand to extradite him to the United States

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom was Tuesday granted his wish to live-stream his bid to avoid extradition to the United States where he is wanted on online piracy charges. 
 
Attempts by the United States to block the live-streaming request were rejected by Judge Murray Gilbert in the Auckland High Court. 
 
Lawyers for the US argued live-streaming could pollute a potential jury pool if the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service ended up on trial in the United States. 
 
But, Gilbert ruled it could go ahead under strict conditions. The live-stream must be delayed by 20 minutes, to allow the court time to prevent any restricted material from being published, and all footage must be removed from the Internet as soon as the hearing is over. 
 
&quot;This is breaking new ground. New Zealand at the forefront of transparent Justice! Leadership!&quot; Dotcom tweeted. 
 
&quot;Live stream will start tomorrow (Wednesday). The cameraman needs to set this up professionally and implement the Judges live streaming rules.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The German national, who has permanent residency in New Zealand, faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted in the United States of piracy, which US authorities say cost copyright owners hundreds of millions of dollars.&nbsp; 
 
His lawyer Ron Mansfield had argued when the case opened in the Auckland High Court on Monday that it raised &quot;unprecedented issues of public and international interest&quot; and it would not be a fair hearing without live-streaming.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;This is a case of the internet age,&quot; Mansfield said.&nbsp; 
 
It is nearly five years since Dotcom, a self-described &quot;Internet freedom fighter&quot;, was arrested in a dramatic police raid on his mansion near Auckland after the FBI shut down Megaupload&#39;s servers. 
 
In December last year, after a nine-week hearing, a New Zealand court ruled there was &quot;overwhelming&quot; evidence to support extradition of the 41-year-old and three other Megaupload founders.&nbsp; 
 
The prosecution has argued that Megaupload wilfully breached copyright by hosting illegally created movie, music and software files.&nbsp; 
 
Dotcom claimed Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site that did its best to police copyright infringement but had 50 million daily users and could not control every aspect of their activity.&nbsp; 
 
Denying any wrongdoing, Dotcom has accused US authorities of pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of politically influential Hollywood studios.&nbsp; 
 
The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated content.&nbsp; 
 
Dotcom has vowed that if he loses this appeal, which is expected to last six-eight weeks, he will take further legal steps to avoid standing trial in the United States. 
 
(AFP)

Lawyers for the US had argued that live-streaming could pollute a potential jury pool if Dotcom ended up on trial in the US

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom was Tuesday granted his wish to live-stream his bid to avoid extradition to the United States where he is wanted on online piracy charges. Attempts by the United States to block the live-streaming request were rejected by Judge Murray Gilbert in the Auckland High Court. Lawyers for the US argued live-streaming could pollute a potential jury pool if the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service ended up on trial in the United States. But, Gilbert ruled it could go ahead under strict conditions. The live-stream must be delayed by 20 minutes, to allow the court time to prevent any restricted material from being published, and all footage must be removed from the Internet as soon as the hearing is over. "This is breaking new ground. New Zealand at the forefront of transparent Justice! Leadership!" Dotcom tweeted. "Live stream will start tomorrow (Wednesday). The cameraman needs to set this up professionally and implement the Judges live streaming rules." The German national, who has permanent residency in New Zealand, faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted in the United States of piracy, which US authorities say cost copyright owners hundreds of millions of dollars. His lawyer Ron Mansfield had argued when the case opened in the Auckland High Court on Monday that it raised "unprecedented issues of public and international interest" and it would not be a fair hearing without live-streaming. "This is a case of the internet age," Mansfield said. It is nearly five years since Dotcom, a self-described "Internet freedom fighter", was arrested in a dramatic police raid on his mansion near Auckland after the FBI shut down Megaupload's servers. In December last year, after a nine-week hearing, a New Zealand court ruled there was "overwhelming" evidence to support extradition of the 41-year-old and three other Megaupload founders. The prosecution has argued that Megaupload wilfully breached copyright by hosting illegally created movie, music and software files. Dotcom claimed Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site that did its best to police copyright infringement but had 50 million daily users and could not control every aspect of their activity. Denying any wrongdoing, Dotcom has accused US authorities of pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of politically influential Hollywood studios. The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated content. Dotcom has vowed that if he loses this appeal, which is expected to last six-eight weeks, he will take further legal steps to avoid standing trial in the United States. (AFP)

Dotcom wins right to live-stream appeal against US extradition

Dotcom was arrested in a dramatic police raid on his mansion near Auckland in January 2012

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom launched his appeal against extradition from New Zealand to the United States on Monday arguing for his case to be live-streamed to ensure a fair hearing. The German national, who has permanent residency in New Zealand, faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted in the US of video piracy, which US authorities say cost copyright owners hundreds of millions of dollars. "My lawyers are currently in court making argument for live-streaming of my entire hearing," the Megaupload founder tweeted shortly after the hearing began in the Auckland High Court. He had tweeted last week that Washington "has asked the New Zealand High Court not to allow live-streaming of my global interest copyright hearing. Worried?" Lawyer Ron Mansfield told the court the case raised "unprecedented issues of public and international interest" and it would not be a fair hearing without live-streaming. Dotcom, who was not at the court, was arrested in a dramatic police raid on his mansion near Auckland in January 2012. In December last year, after a nine-week hearing, Judge Nevin Dawson found there was "overwhelming" evidence to support extradition of the 41-year-old and three other Megaupload founders. Dotcom argued Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site that did its best to police copyright infringement but had 50 million daily users and could not control every aspect of their activity. At its peak, Megaupload was said to be the 13th most visited site on the internet, accounting for four percent of global web traffic. Dotcom, who has accused US authorities of pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of politically influential Hollywood studios, has announced plans to relaunch his Megaupload empire in 2017, exactly five years after it was shut down. The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated (AFP)

Megaupload creator Kim Dotcom demands live-streaming of extradition appeal

kim-dotcom

Kim Dotcom, News on Kim Dotcom, stories on Kim Dotcom, articles on Kim Dotcom, Kim Dotcom stories at Wion, Kim Dotcom news, Kim Dotcom latest news

kim dotcom

Who is Kim Dotcom? New Zealand to extradite him to the United States

Dotcom wins right to live-stream appeal against US extradition

Megaupload creator Kim Dotcom demands live-streaming of extradition appeal