"I'm Not Leaving": Kim Dotcom Defiant After NZ Approves Extradition For Trial In United States

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom says he's not going anywhere after New Zealand's justice minister said on Thursday that he will be extradited to the Untied States on charges related to his defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that he had signed an extradition order for Dotcom, saying in a statement: "I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial," adding "As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision."

The extradition order comes 12 years after an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion. In 2017, the high court in New Zealand first approved his extradition - with an appeal court reaffirming the finding in 2018. In 2020, the country's supreme court again affirmed the finding, however they also left the door open for further judicial review.

Dotcom responded to the decision, posting on Tuesday that "the obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload."

He later said: "I love New Zealand. I'm not leaving."

He also says he 'has a plan.'

According to US authorities, Dotcom and three other Megaupload executives cost film studios over US$500 million by encouraging people to store and share copyrighted material - generating over US$175 million for his website. He also faces charges of money laundering and racketeering.

The internet mogul says he should not be held personally liable for copyright infringement carried out on his site.

"New Zealand copyright law (92b) makes it clear that an ISP can’t be criminally liable for actions of their users," Dotcom noted in 2017 following the high court's decision. "Unless you’re Kim Dotcom?"

Megaupload was based in Hong Kong until 2012, when the US seized the domain and shuttered the site. It relaunched in 2013 as Mega, with a New Zealand domain name, however Dotcom has had no involvement in the company since at least 2015. The company's chief marketing officer, Finn Batato, and chief technical officer and co-founder, Mathias Ortmann, both from Germany, along with a third executive, the Dutch national Bram van der Kolk, were arrested in Auckland with Dotcom in 2012, according to The Guardian.

Ortmann and Van der Kolk were sentenced to jail terms in 2023 under plea deals that avoided extradition, while Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.

Needless to say, Dotcom's supporters are out in force: