German-Finnish entrepreneur Kim Schmitz, also known as Kim Dotcom, founder of the file-sharing site Megaupload, will be extradited to the United States, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the New Zealand Minister of Justice. In the US, he faces charges of copyright infringement, extortion and money laundering.
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Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed the order for Dotcom’s extradition. “I have carefully reviewed all the information and have determined that Mr. Dotcom should be transferred to the United States to stand trial,” he said in a press statement.
According to US law enforcement, Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives caused more than $500 million in damages to film studios and record labels by encouraging paid users to share copyrighted content, generating more than $175 million in revenue from this activity.
Dotcom was arrested in 2012 by New Zealand authorities along with the company’s chief marketing officer Finn Batato, chief technology officer and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, both from Germany, and top executive Bram van der Kolk. Kolk) from the Netherlands. Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk entered into plea deals with the investigation, which avoided extradition, but were sentenced to prison in New Zealand in 2023. Batato died in 2022. Dotcom said he has ideas on how to avoid extradition, but did not disclose their essence.