Digital Freedom Fighter Kim Dotcom Faces Extradition From New Zealand After 12-Year Battle with U.S. Government
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The New Zealand government has approved the extradition of Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, to the United States.
On Thursday, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that he had signed the extradition order for Dotcom, who has been embroiled in legal disputes since his arrest in 2012 during a dramatic FBI-led raid on his Auckland mansion. The charges against him include racketeering conspiracy, copyright infringement, and money laundering.
Dotcom, who has consistently maintained his innocence, said that Megaupload was merely a file-sharing platform, arguing that he had no control over the content uploaded by its users.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he and his associates facilitated a ‘vast piracy operation’ that cost Hollywood elites’ film studios and record companies more than $500 million,
