U.S forces maintain fire against Megaupload

The United States government is holding firm against the pursuit of file sharing platform Megaupload and its founders stating that even if the indictment of the Megaupload corporation is dismissed, it will continue the indefinite freeze on its assets. During a federal hearing in the U.S last Friday, prosecutors urged U.S. …

[jaduncan]

A lawyer stating on the court record that

a) they're seizing assets for evidence for a case where jurisdiction is not established;

b) that the case might never go further than a threatened indictment or indictment without intent to actually prosecute "to hang around their heads", and;

c) they have the intention of maintaining possession of the siezed property regardless of any actual court case being possible.

Well, it sounds awfully like a tort problem question regarding abuse of process.

[Anonymous Coward]

It is also looking increasingly unlikely that they can serve papers on Megaupload. Basically the US trying to apply US law to a foreign company with no ties to the USA.

What's more is that in NZ the initial raid and seizure of data from Dotcom's mansion was illegal and in turn the NZ police illegally handed overillegally seized data to the FBI. Even the extradition was applied for under the wrong process.

The NZ courts have ordered the FBI to return the illegally obtained data. The deadline for the FBI's compliance has been and gone with no sign of the feds returning the data (which is also of use to Dotcom's defence)

So we have an unlawful extradition application and illegal raid and seizure with illegally obtained data passed to the applicant illegally (even if everything else was within NZ law the data should not have been handed over until the outcome of the extradition has been determined.

The NZ courts have a duty of care towards a person subject to an extradition application and that includes the court satisfying itself that the person will receive a fair trial. With the number of breeches in due process so far and no the contempt the FBI is showing by ignoring the NZ order to return the illegally obtained data, the chance of a fair trial were the extradition granted seems non existent.

[Tony Reeves 1]

House Arrest!!!

"Dotcom remains under house arrest in his New Zealand mansion where he waging an aggressive social media campaign against the MPA and the U.S government’s actions."

He has never been on House Arrest. Earlier on he was bailed to a specific location, now he pretty much free to wander around NZ as he chooses.

[Thorne]

Just love the "We're keeping all your money, even if we're wrong because we know your naughty"

As the New Zealand Judge said "We have met the enemy and the enemy is the US"

[Anonymous Coward]

Waitasec

If the company doesn't have a US address - how can it have assets that can be seized in the US? It's not like these seized servers and funds in Tonga.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Waitasec

The assets were siezed in NZ when they swooped in with local law enforcement on a warrent that has since been branded as illegal.

The assets should never have been handed over to a foriegn power who has no jurasdiction, but who cares about a little thing like due process right?

Sing along everybody.

America, F**k yeah!

[SJRulez]

Re: Waitasec

Dotcom should count himself lucky so far, I'm surprised the US hasn't just carried out a summary execution with a drone strike or used their typical rendition tactics on him since all that's legal when they're doing it.

[Jop]

So they sent a summons to Carpethia Hosting which is not owned by Megaupload? Unbelievable!

It is clear they have no jurisdiction over Megaupload and the entire process is to put a foreign company out of business.

This whole fiasco will do America and the RIAA/MPAA more harm than good.

[Anonymous Coward]

Goodbye America

You were a shining beacon of democracy once, but all empires fade and your time has come. You will be missed. Please try not dragging the rest of the planet down in your demise, all the best, United Kingdom.

Hello China, what position would you like me to be in.

XXX

[David 45]

Theft?

So they're still "freezing" Megaupload's assets? Surely, this is almost tantamount to some sort of crime? Probably not stealing but surely the withholding of someone's money without just cause has got to be illegal on the statute books somewhere?

[2Fat2Bald]

Torn...

Well, I don't like what Megaupload was facilitating - people should be rewarded for their efforts and all and if you don't think something is worth paying for, then you have the perfect right NOT to buy it - not the perfect right to steal it. Saying that, copyrighted material is not the only thing that Megaupload was supplying. Arguably you might just as well shut down a Storage company as - sometimes - people use storage lockers to store stuff they don't want traced back to them (IE, stolen stuff).

I do find it hard to credit that the best approach the NZ police could some up with was landing a *helicopter* in the garden. I mean this isn't really a recognised steath tactic. is it? - They're bloody noisy things and kinda hard to miss coming. If I am honest with the amount of paperwork snafus going on it almost (ALMOST!) as if someone, somewhere knew they had to do as instructed but felt very strongly that this isn't what their team(s) and the international agreements should be used for - they're supposed to stop people blowing up airliners - not stop them uploading a dodgy copy of "Batman Forever" against the will of the foreigh Millionaire - Maybe this is why so many "mistakes" have been made in the paperwork that look set to derail the process?