Kim Dotcom To Fight New Zealand Court In Extradition Ruling; 2012's Mansion Raid Illegal?

by Peter Ferrer / Dec 25, 2015 09:23 AM EST

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Kim Dotcom, owner of online storage locker Megaupload, vows to fight a New Zealand court ruling that he can be extradited to the United States, where he faces charges related to piracy, according to USA Today.

Dotcom faces multiple charges including copyright infringement racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. Three of his colleagues as well, are eligible for extradition.

The German-born entrepreneur, who has been living in Auckland, New Zealand and has been fighting his extradition for three years, said that an appeal has been filed.

Prosecutors claim that the site permitted people to illegally download songs, movies and television shows, costing recording companies and movie studios more than US$500 million.

Kim Dotcom was seen by games, software, film and music rightsholders, as a villain during Megaupload's heyday. His cloud storage site was a haven for illegal filesharing, revealed The Guardian.

At that time, Rapidshare and Dotcom's company were seen as threats by numerous labels. The idea of millions of fans getting music for free rather than buying CDs scared them.

In 2012, U.S. agents and New Zealand police burst into the 39-year old's mansion, cutting through locks to get to get to Dotcom, who was secured in his panic room. Two police helicopters and dozens of agents were included in the arrest. Agents seized 150 terabytes of data, cash worth NZ$11 million, and 18 luxury vehicles, reported Fortune.

Megaupload never came back from that raid and in March 2015, Rapidshare closed down.

Since the case began, the United States has had setbacks as well as the raid was declared illegal. Authorities also had to give the seized hard drives, property and some of the luxury cars back.

They are also forced to watch another file sharing service started by Kim Dotcom called, Mega. The site also offers encrypted chat.

Wednesday's ruling is only about the extradition issue and is not about the charges related to innocence or guilt; however, if the men are found guilty they could face decades behind bars.