U.S. Files Extradition Papers in New Zealand for Four Megaupload Administrators

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The paperwork for extradition of Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder, has been filed by United States federal prosecutors in New Zealand. Extradition papers have also been filed for three of Dotcom’s colleagues, who have been accused of helping people share files illegally, making them millions of dollars. Officials from New Zealand claim that the paperwork was filed in Auckland’s North Shore District Court on Friday. The papers are not going to be released by the court as of yet.

The four men involved in the website are accused of violating copyright laws by helping people download millions of files while using their website, according to prosecutors in the United States. The four men have made millions of dollars at the expense of songwriters and filmmakers. One of the crimes they are accused of committing is that of racketeering, which features a 20-year prison term if convicted.

  

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Along with Dotcom, others named in the paperwork for extradition include Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk. All three men were working in positions high in the organization prior to the website being shuttered in January by the government. The four men continue to be under house arrest in Auckland as they await a hearing for extradition, which is scheduled for the month of August.

Dotcom changed his name from Kim Schmitz and was born in Germany. He claims that authorities from the United States handpicked emails and evidence from the company that portrays the company in a bad light because the items are misleading. Dotcom also said that some of his employees were working each day to remove content that the United States deemed to violate copyright law. On the other hand, United States officials said that the employees would only remove links and not the content itself. Three other men were charged by United States officials in Europe, with one of them being arrested in January by Dutch police. That man’s name is Andrus Nomm.