Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom faces extradition to US after 12-year legal fight

Greg Bowker/New Zealand Herald via AP

Kim Dotcom, the controversial founder of the once-popular file-sharing website Megaupload, has lost his prolonged legal battle to avoid extradition from New Zealand to the United States.

The decision, announced Friday by New Zealand's Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, marks a significant turning point in a case that has spanned more than a decade, the Associated Press reported.

Dotcom, a Finnish-German millionaire, now faces charges of copyright infringement, money laundering, and racketeering in the US. The Department of Justice has described the case as the largest criminal copyright case in US history, with prosecutors alleging that Megaupload illegally profited by at least $175 million from users downloading copyrighted material.

The saga began in 2012 with a dramatic raid on Dotcom's Auckland mansion, leading to his arrest along with other company officers. Since then, Dotcom has fought vigorously against extradition, criticizing both the investigation and the arrests.

Despite the setback, Dotcom remains defiant. "Don't worry I have a plan," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. His legal team is preparing a bid for judicial review of Goldsmith's decision.

The case has seen several developments over the years, including New Zealand's Supreme Court ruling that Dotcom and two others could be extradited in 2021, prior to two of Dotcom's former business partners, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, pleading guilty and receiving jail sentences in New Zealand in 2023. Prior to this, Megaupload computer programmer Andrus Nomm pleaded guilty in the US in 2015.

Minister Goldsmith, who was appointed in November after a change in government, stated he had "received extensive advice from the Ministry of Justice" before making his decision. While a date for extradition has not been set, Dotcom will be given "a short period of time to consider and take advice" on the decision.