back to article Megaupload overlord Kim Dotcom: The US has radicalised me!

Megaupload founder, wannabe politician and wanted man Kim Dotcom has spent all of his money trying to avoid extradition to the US to face online piracy charges. Youtube Video The internet entrepreneur told the unBound Digital conference in London yesterday that fighting the law and attempting to launch his political career …

  1. Omgwtfbbqtime
    Trollface

    Has he tried the Ecuadoran Embassy?

    1. SolidSquid

      Sounds like a sitcom in the making!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Or at least a comic strip in the vein of "Everyone Loves Eric Raymond"...

      2. Just Enough
        Joke

        Ecuadoran Embassy

        Join the fun tonight for the first episode of "Ecuadoran Embassy". Marina is an ordinary staff member of a London embassy, who suddenly she finds she has two permanent house guests with enormous egos! She loves them dearly as victims of American Imperialism, but can she put up with the endless squabbling over who gets the top shelf in the bathroom? And what will his Excellency Enrique Armendariz , the strict new ambassador, say when he discovers one of them has installed a 18 Petabyte server rack in his stationary cupboard?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Ecuadoran Embassy

          I reckon you could get crowd funding to start producing that....

          1. Oninoshiko

            Re: Ecuadoran Embassy

            "I reckon you could get crowd funding to start producing that...."

            I'd chip in a couple quid.

        2. PGregg

          Re: Ecuadoran Embassy

          Put wheels on and it becomes a mobile cupboard!

      3. Boork!

        Kim Dotcom would make for a dim sitcom...

    2. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Omgwtfbbqtime

      "Has he tried the Ecuadoran Embassy?" They're busy reinforcing their couch in the Auckland Consulate now....

  2. graeme leggett Silver badge

    "millions he earned "

    I think some figure 'accumulated' might be a better phrase.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lesson learned: A lawyer will always spend the money you give them.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Und...

    ...Ah shall only tell you ziz vunce...!

  5. M7S

    Hollywood has a thing about German villains

    or ones with a British accent

    1. Bloakey1

      Re: Hollywood has a thing about German villains

      Yep.They seem to like the well educated Brit accent, it frightens the hell out of them.

      I am more shocked by him talking a bit of sense. The way the US (nice one Charlie Wilson) funded Osama Bin Laden and the Mujahadeen could not possibly go wrong could it? They encouraged people to fight Jihad, encouraged Saudi Arabia et. al to fund Jihad and travel for people to fight the Russians. They supplied and trained rebels both in the UK and US as well as on the ground and when the fighting was over, well the Great Satan had its fat arse bitten in no uncertain manner. There are other examples indeed a plethora of examples of operational and tactical thinking ignoring strategic thinking in no uncertain manner:

      For example the US funded ho Chi Minh back in the forties and that went brilliantly and there were no comebacks. They trained ISIS to some extent and they also trained smaller units that defected to ISIS. They supplied large amounts of fairly sophisticated modern weapons to lots of people that are now in the hands of ISIS. Luckily all of that is not a problems as they are in the hands of modern rational thinking people who wish us no harm. Phewwww, thank Gawd for that.

      They seem to have a history of training rum coves who then end up fighting against them. Who would have thought it.

      Come back duplicitous and perfidious Albion, you are forgiven and your skills are sorely needed.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hollywood has a thing about German villains

        Ahh US Foreign intervention - CIA supplying arms to over throw the legally elected leader of Iran and placing a puppet in his place - which led to the revolution and modern day state. Arming Saddam back in the day to offset the Soviets and the mess in Iran. Supporting rebels in south east asia by helping them sell their opium much of which ended up in Vietnam where the biggest buyers were US soldiers. Ending up allowing the Kamer Rouge to take Cambodia... There are lots of other fun things the US achieved across the world. Oh well.

      2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: Hollywood has a thing about German villains

        And don't forget to mention, Bloakey1, who financed the IRA to do battle and win against the British establishment in N. Ireland.

        And they're still thinking it appropriate to be involved in conflict deliberations to this day. Not much in the way of leading intelligence in-house in the UKGBNI, and that's for certain no matter whatever else would be said about the matter.

        It does present an opportunity though for the supply of that which is missing, although some would argue and decide that it can be much more lucrative and interesting to anonymously exploit the vulnerability with a whole series of ....... well, creative and disruptive zerodays are but one virtually real weapon system available for firing and defence in the proprietary intellectual property arsenal and for which there would be only a limited non-effective response. After all, casting pearls before swine is not an intelligent move and offering novel noble programming to proven ignoble exclusive executive administrations would be more of a gratuitous taunt than a blessing in disguise?

        One is always willing though to be proven wrong in that thought and to discover there is real intelligent life phorming systems doing their thing the right way undercover and in the underground running dark web ventures and seriously smarter enterprise for global operating devices and the cleverest of virtual machines.

        Now that would make a great film too and introduce to the masses the true nature and reality of their future existence and past enigmatic dilemma.

      3. Richard Jukes

        Re: Hollywood has a thing about German villains

        I believe it is only fair to make it sporting old chum....

      4. Tony Paulazzo

        Re: Hollywood has a thing about German villains

        They seem to have a history of training rum coves who then end up fighting against them. Who would have thought it.

        We have always been at war with Eurasia!

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Relevant?

    Is K-dot-C relevant anymore? I thought he was just another ego-laden oxygen thief

    1. Bloakey1

      Re: Relevant?

      Interesting name Kim, closely related to the word quim, which as we all know is a sixteenth century word that means cunt. Says it all really.

      1. Diogenes
        Boffin

        Re: Relevant?

        In Anglo-Saxon the meaning of the name Kim is: Noble or brave

        In Welsh the meaning of the name Kim is: Chief of war. Leader.

        regards

        kim

  7. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit

    Innocent until proven broke?

    1. KjetilS

      US has the best justice money can buy.

      (If you don't have money, you can't have any)

      1. SDoradus

        That would be the UK

        "US has the best justice money can buy.

        (If you don't have money, you can't have any)"

        Actually that would be NZ. For some reason the NZ lawyers did not need a judge's permission to withdraw from the case. That's frankly puzzling.

        Dotcom's US lawyers are still on board, like Rothken. As far as one can tell, they're now fighting the US side of this fight for free (pro bono publico).

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: That would be the UK

          Why should barristers and solicitors be required to work for free? Will the government pay them - No. If they needed permission to withdraw then people would retain barristers without the intention of paying them.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I assume this was their intention all along...

    Keep banging away until he runs out of money to pay his lawyers.

    It would seem to be an approach used by both the US and the UK - the prosecution have access to almost unlimited resources to build their case. While whoever's unlucky enough to be on the receiving end bankrupts themselves trying to prove their innocence.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

      or commits suicide.

      1. SDoradus

        Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

        "... or commits suicide."

        Best guess: he'd wait till there's no hope at all. Unlike Aaron Schwarz.

    2. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Stop

      Re: AC Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

      "Keep banging away until he runs out of money to pay his lawyers....." K.C could have saved his money (and that of the US and NZ taxpayers) if he had just manned up and gone to court, but he instead chose (just like Assange) to try every legal delaying trick in the book to avoid justice. He has only himself to blame, both due to his original criminal actions and his subsequent legal shenanigans.

      1. Matt 21

        Re: AC I assume this was their intention all along...

        Well obviously we're all guilty of anything the US charges us with so yes.

        In fact, let's save them some money and agree to fund our own flights to a jail of their choosing where we should pay them rent for our prison cell.

      2. SDoradus

        Manning up

        "... if he had just manned up and gone to court..."

        He did.

        Till Dotcom's defence funds were sequestered, he won more often than he lost. Of course, these were NZ courts, including the High Court, which found the search and seizures illegal, to say nothing of the illegal transfer of evidence overseas.

        One imagines he had less confidence in the ability to prevail in a US federal or state court. Given recent events, wouldn't you? When the need arises he'll have to battle it out in the US court as well, and I'd note his US lawyers don't seem inclined to drop him simply because he can't pay.

        Meanwhile, why should he go to the US? He's a permanent resident of NZ. That, and bail, is what his current legal fight is all about.

      3. Kiwi

        Re: AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

        K.C could have saved his money (and that of the US and NZ taxpayers)

        yes of course. When Uncle sam points the finger at us, we should all admit our guilt and never dare to resist. We cannot be innocent if US says we're guilty! We must not fight!

        As one of those NZ tax payers, I wish my government would man up and tell the US to fuck off. Sadly, the criminal Shon Key is too busy re-writing laws to make any act comitted by his friends "not a crime after all" while making it easy for others to be put behind bars.

        KDC, Wish you well. Wish I had a few more millions to put into your legal fund so at least someone would stand a chance.

        1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
          Stop

          Re: Kiwi Re: AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

          "....When Uncle sam points the finger at us, we should all admit our guilt and never dare to resist. We cannot be innocent if US says we're guilty!...." <Yawn> K.C has had and still has every opportunity to defend himself in the U.S. courts and had in no way at all already been found guilty. However, IMHO, going on the evidence so far presented, he is a crook, and I'm pretty sure that is the legal advice he has received, hence his desperate attempts to avoid justice.

          "....As one of those NZ tax payers, I wish my government would man up and tell the US to fuck off....." If you are unhappy with your elected officials and wish for a more 'liberal' interpretation or rewriting of the laws, then I suggest you form a political party that stands for such changes and try getting enough of the NZ public to agree with you point of view to get yourselves elected. Then you can legally change the law to allow whatever thievery you like. Oh, hold on a sec - Kim-dot-Dim already tried that and the NZ public told him to fuck off. Does that truth upset you?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

            Why should he go to the US if he has never been there? It is aburd to assume that we have go around the world to defend ourselves against any group of people who decide that they have a beef against us.

            Perhaps Matt Bryant should go to a far flung Pacific island to hang around for years while his case is processed and he is subjected to arbitrary imprisonment.

            1. Matt Bryant Silver badge

              Re: AC Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

              "Why should he go to the US if he has never been there?...." Maybe you should try reading the extradition request, it might fill in one of what appears to be many holes in your knowledge.

              ".....It is aburd to assume that we have go around the world to defend ourselves against any group of people who decide that they have a beef against us....." Really? Yet I bet a 'right-on dude' as you seem to want yourself to be perceived approves of war criminals being extradited to stand trial at The Hague? Oh, and this is not 'a beef', it is a suspected encouragement and collusion in illegal activity under international as well as US laws.

              "....Perhaps Matt Bryant should go to a far flung Pacific island...." Well, not New Zealand, thanks. Despite its appeal to many, it strikes me as too much like a bigger Wales, only with more cricket and less cottage burning. If you wish to spring for an all-expenses trip to Fiji I'd consider it, but then I suspect - given what seems to be your support for pirating - your funds might not stretch to cover even a trip to Southend.

              ".....to hang around for years while his case is processed and he is subjected to arbitrary imprisonment." Nothing arbitrary about it at all. You seem to have missed the bit where Kim Dotdumb was accused of running the World's largest pirate site, would you like some pointers to help you catch up on the whole affair? I would suggest you start Your homework here:

              http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/dotcom_rejected_again/

              http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/07/mpaa_megaupload_files_returned/

              http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaupload_legal_case

              http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/19/kim_dotcom_arrested/ (note the bit about US-based servers)

              http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dotcom (includes bits on his prior e-criminal record)

          2. Kiwi

            Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

            "....When Uncle sam points the finger at us, we should all admit our guilt and never dare to resist. We cannot be innocent if US says we're guilty!...." <Yawn> K.C has had and still has every opportunity to defend himself in the U.S. courts

            Why should he have to? What crime has he comitted there? What crime has he comitted here? To date he's not been accused of anything illegal against NZ law (although you can bet that Shon Key and his bunch will soon re-write laws to fix that - when it was found that those conducting the raid on KDC's place acted in an illegal and even criminal manner, the government passed new laws under urgency to make sure that they could not be prosecuted (ie in NZ now if cops commit a crime while at work, that's fine)

            and had in no way at all already been found guilty.

            You really are that dense aren't you? The legal process in the US can take a very long time, all the while he would be sitting in custody. Again, for something that was not a crime in either country?

            However, IMHO, going on the evidence so far presented, he is a crook, and I'm pretty sure that is the legal advice he has received, hence his desperate attempts to avoid justice.

            What evidence? Aside from very minor petty stuff (NZ is quite a hard country to get in to if you have any relevant criminal history - so any alledged "crimes" he did commit would mean he was gone once they were discovered)

            If you are unhappy with your elected officials and wish for a more 'liberal' interpretation or rewriting of the laws,

            Not interested in more liberal laws (at least not in this context). I am, however, intersted in the government following the laws currently on the books. It should not be something citizens even need to consider asking - that our government (including organisations like the police) follow our laws.

            then I suggest you form a political party [..]Oh, hold on a sec - Kim-dot-Dim already tried that and the NZ public told him to fuck off. Does that truth upset you?

            I never would have voted for him or his party simply because their views are not my views. Had IP stood alone it may have been a different manner. His two biggest mistakes were to go in too late (barely any time to gain traction), and to side with Mana (disliked by the majority of Kiwi's).

            I'm not exactly a fan of KDC. But that does not mean I should stand by and watch my country's government act in an illegal manner over someone who's only offences were "civil" in nature. If you could present any reliable evidence of any crime against NZ law that he committed before he arrived here, I would perhaps consider him being deported (it would depend on the crime, how long ago, time served and so on). But whatever the case, I would expect our government to follow our rules, not prostitute themselves for some yankee scumbags.

            1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
              Stop

              Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

              ".....Why should he have to? What crime has he comitted there?....." READ THE EXTRADITION REQUEST! He and his co-defendants are accused of hosting, encouraging and financially rewarding the deliberate pirating of copyrighted material. Seriously, did none of the Crim Dotcom supporters even read anything factual relating to the matter?

              ".....To date he's not been accused of anything illegal against NZ law....." His copyright infringements would be illegal under NZ laws (I suggest you read here - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_New_Zealand) but he is being charged in the US as portions of the Megaupload service were based in the US.

              "......(NZ is quite a hard country to get in to if you have any relevant criminal history....." Evidently not, given that Crim Dotcom has a criminal record of e-crimes, stock manipulation, embezzlement and illegal stock trading (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dotcom#Criminal_investigations). Crim Dotcom effectively bought his NZ residency with a promise of investment (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dotcom#New_Zealand.27s_decision_to_grant_residency).

              ".....You really are that dense aren't you?....." Well, if you are struggling with the concept of a criminal trial and how it progresses to a declaration of guilty or not guilty, I would have to suggest it is you that is at least ill-informed or just dense.

              "......The legal process in the US can take a very long time, all the while he would be sitting in custody....." But Crim Dotcom has been fighting his extradition for two years already, so if anyone is prolonging matters it is him.

              ".....for something that was not a crime in either country?...." Please go read up on NZ's copyright laws and international obligations (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_New_Zealand). Then come back and admit you are talking out of your rectum.

              ".....I am, however, intersted in the government following the laws currently on the books....." Yet you seem to know SFA about such laws! I suggest you start here (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_1994).

              ".....But that does not mean I should stand by and watch my country's government act in an illegal manner....." As I recall, the NZ courts ruled all the evidence seized is legit along with the warrant used (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/19/megaupload_warrant_legal_appeal/), which completely destroys the 'illegal' myth. Please do try and keep up!

              ".....I'm not exactly a fan of KDC....." So you're posting all this easily debunked male genetalia because...? An unreasoning dislike of the US? Hatred of copyright laws? Or just because you are ill-informed? It seems a lot of your argument is based on opinion and zero on actual facts.

              ".....If you could present any reliable evidence of any crime against NZ law....." Despite his alleged encouragement and financial rewarding of piracy being illegal under NZ copyright law (as well as the international copyright treaties NZ has signed up to), that is not the problem Crim Dotdumb faces - it is their illegality under US law (where some of his servers were based and many of the pirate uploads and financial rewards are alleged to have transacted) - that is his legal problem.

              ".....not prostitute themselves for some yankee scumbags." Ah, so your 'reasoning' does derive from a simple and blind hatred of the US. Maybe the old joke that the smartest Kiwis left New Zealand does have more than a grain of truth.

              1. YetAnotherLocksmith Silver badge

                Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

                Jesus, where to start...

                Matt, you clearly haven't been keeping up with the news on this.

                Megaupload had a way for copyright holders to remove links that was IN ADDITION to the DCMA, which they complied with. This allowed Sony, Warner, etc to effortlessly remove up to 1500 files per day if they wanted, without even bothering to file a DCMA!

                I've been struggling to find the leaked pie chart that shows that Megaupload was only responsible for something like 7% of the pirated files in the world, despite being the biggest sharing site. Much smaller sites were (and still are) responsible for far more.

                Various major companies were uploading their own files to Megaupload:

                http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-and-riaa-members-uploaded-over-2000-gigabytes-to-megaupload-140418/

                The entire physical surveillance operation was illegal: http://torrentfreak.com/kim-billy-big-steps-dotcom-stil-causing-headaches-for-spy-agency-130319/

                And here's one from 2012, where the US freaks over being asked for some, you know, actual evidence of a crime: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120615/17485919355/new-zealands-high-court-steps-into-extradition-fight-over-kim-dotcom.shtml

                As far as I know, they still haven't actually done this, hence no extradition yet.

                And yet you seem to think he should have gone to rot in a gaol cell for a few years "to prove his innocence"!?

                I'll be interested to see what appears from the 38 million documents leaked from Sony - they will likely have some insights into what exactly is going on. However, my current theory is that Sony have been taken down in a different-but-the-same manner as Kim Dotcom. Different details, but for the same reason - non-US company doing too well, and threatening the MPAA/RIAA monopoly cash (cache?) cow.

                1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
                  FAIL

                  Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

                  "Jesus, where to start..." I would suggest a more pertinent strategy might be a bit more reading of the actual legal matters involved rather than relying on help from a mythical figure.

                  ".....Matt, you clearly haven't been keeping up with the news on this....." The fact I have linked to news articles and relevant NZ legal pages, whereas you did nothing but insist you knew more about the law than the NZ courts, suggests it is you that has homework to do.

                  "....Megaupload had a way for copyright holders to remove links that was IN ADDITION to the DCMA....." Strange that he is so set against talking about that in court, then. Maybe it's because he doesn't want to admit that he financially rewarded the posters of the files that generated the most hits and downloads, despite knowing those being to be pirated material, and did not take down copyrighted material when requested.

                  "....I've been struggling to find the leaked pie chart...." Maybe because, along with a lot of the 'evidence' posted by Crim Dordumb's followers it's a work of fiction?

                  "....only responsible for something like 7% of the pirated files in the world....." So, first you want to claim he didn't host any pirated material, now you want to go with the figure of '7%'..... Make your mind up! Indeed, do a little maths - there are tens-of-thousands of pirate websites in countries like Russia and China alone, so having 7% could still make him the largest pirate! Do you need help with the sums?

                  "....Much smaller sites were (and still are) responsible for far more....." So what? Are you suggesting we just ignore muggers that keep below a quota of victims per week? Fail!

                  ".....Various major companies were uploading their own files to Megaupload....." Again, so what? I know people who were uploading legit files to Mega, just as I know people with legitimate businesses that made use of Lloyds TSB's banking facilities. But that didn't stop Lloyds TSB getting fined millions for their part in the Libor scandal (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28528349). Just because a company engages in legal activities, even if that is the majority of their business, it doesn't mean they get a free pass on any illegal activities. You are just desperately trying to excuse away Crim Dotdumb's alleged illegal activities.

                  "....The entire physical surveillance operation was illegal...." Once again, as I posted earlier, the NZ courts decided otherwise (they having actual legal authority, not torrentfreak) and all the evidence and the warrant used in NZ have been upheld as legit.

                  "....And yet you seem to think he should have gone to rot in a gaol cell for a few years...." Actually, if Crim Dotdumb had simply agreed to go to the US, it is highly likely he would have been granted bail. It is still possible he could be granted bail now as the prosecution still has to show him to be a flight risk. So, insisting he will 'rot in goal' whilst waiting for his trial is just another baseless myth.

                  ".....I'll be interested to see what appears from the 38 million documents leaked from Sony...." I suspect you will sail right past any evidence gathered by Sony showing Crim Dotdumb's activities to have been illegal, in a desperate search for yet another excuse. I get it, you obviously don't think piracy is a crime, and hate the Yanks (despite Sony being a Japanese company), so that should be enough in your view to forgive Crim Dotdumb. Unlucky for you (and Crim Dotdumb), the legal system doesn't work on your whimsical approach to justice. Lucky for the readers as we get to laugh at your posts!

              2. Alan Brown Silver badge

                Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

                "He and his co-defendants are accused of hosting, encouraging and financially rewarding the deliberate pirating of copyrighted material. Seriously, did none of the Crim Dotcom supporters even read anything factual relating to the matter?"

                Of course we did.

                The fact remains that the original search warrant was illegally overbroad (granted by an unnamed North Shore judge who seems to have been overly credulous), illegally executed and to cap it all off went _far_ beyond what was actually authorised by the warrant.

                Kim Dotcom is in no way, shape or form a "nice guy" - but the law is the law and everyone must be treated equally and accorded the same rights. If the cops can throw away the rulebook in order to go after XYZ bad guy, what's to stop them doing so to go after _you_ and make shit up later?

                The NZ Police have a fairly long track record of taking the easy way out deciding someone's guilty and then finding or manufacturing evidence to back that claim (Arthur Allen Thomas and David Bain being classic examples) instead of looking objectively at the evidence in order to work out who's the culprit, along with giving people with connections a free ride (example: Roastbusters - where several of the teens in question are the children of cops). Gene Hunt is alive and well and living in Napier.

                The NZ courts have an equally long history of ignoring police excesses or sweeping them under the carpet - hardly surprising when the police, judges and most lawyers are all drinking in the same pub after hours.

                http://laudafinem.com/2014/12/04/a-line-in-the-sand-has-been-drawn-a-royal-commission-into-police-corruption-urgent/

            2. Alan Brown Silver badge

              Re: Kiwi AC I assume this was their intention all along... @Matt Bryant

              It's been fairly clear for a while that NZ will quite happily let people in as long as they pay lots of money to the appropriate politicians.

              Which is why the Chinese govt is asking for some of them back - quite a few were let in despite Interpol Red Notices being in effect.

              Kiwis should take a look at offshore blogs such as http://laudafinem.com/ - assuming they can get past the undocumented geoblocking which seems to be in effect against that site....

      4. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: AC I assume this was their intention all along...

        "but he instead chose (just like Assange) to try every legal delaying trick in the book to avoid justice"

        Judging from the news reports, that particular boot is on the Crown's foot. KDC's lawyers filed several motions to try and speed things up and it's the govt which has been asking for more time.

        1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Alan Brown Re: AC I assume this was their intention all along...

          "....KDC's lawyers filed several motions to try and speed things up...." Only when his defence fund started to dry up. He could have saved a lot of time (and defence fund, and taxpayers' money) if he had just accepted the warrant and gone to stand trial in the States.

    3. SDoradus

      Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

      "Keep banging away until he runs out of money to pay his lawyers."

      It's worse than that. He still owns or controls plenty of assets; however, the MPAA and similar organizations have had them frozen. The ability to do so is a comparatively recent legal development (writs of Mareva, freezing orders etc.) and normally part of the civil law, but clearly now being used to hobble the defendant in a related criminal case.

      That's strictly a crown-realm common law development at the moment because US law doesn't tolerate that sort of thing - it's against the constitution, don't you know. This led a law school guest lecturer to complain about the 'dead hand of originalism'; but he predicted the US courts would eventually see compliance with such international orders as in their best interests.

      The judicial arm of world government is tracking nicely into place.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

        "The ability to do so is a comparatively recent legal development (writs of Mareva, freezing orders etc.) and normally part of the civil law, but clearly now being used to hobble the defendant in a related criminal case."

        The New Zealand govt routinely seizes a defendant's assets in criminal cases in order to prevent mounting an effective defence. One I'm personally aware of is the Lundy case

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundy_murders

        (Not mentioned in the Wikipedia article is that a NZ police unmarked car attempted to drive the same route in the same time period the prosecution claimed and caused at least 8 emergency services calls from concerned motorists due to the recklessness of the driving. This came up in the trial, but the jury still convicted him.)

        1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Alan Brown Re: I assume this was their intention all along...

          "....The New Zealand govt routinely seizes a defendant's assets in criminal cases in order to prevent mounting an effective defence...." Not quite. The NZ authorities, along with those of most First World countries, will seize assets and financials thought to be the result of criminal activity, under a court-granted warrant. So it is not a case of "Hey, let's grab that cash so we can screw his legal team" as you state. And Crim Dot Dumb had plenty of other funds to pay for his legal fees, he just did not calculate correctly the cost of his time-wasting defences.

          ".... One I'm personally aware of is the Lundy case...." Er, what? Lundy not only got a fair trial (which he lost by jury decision, but also two appeals, the final one leading to the quashing of his conviction. He was already in debt (due to his vineyard business) before the murders, so how you contend that the authorities tried to drive him to bankruptcy by delaying his trial is beyond me. His case is completely unrelated to Crim Dot Dumb's and seems to have zero common legalities either. Try again!

  9. PCS

    Why is that people who share or release other peoples data on the internet and then get caught suddenly want to become politicians?

    fatboy.com

    piratebay.idiots

    assange.tit

    They're all at it!

    1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

      "Why is that people who share or release other peoples data on the internet and then get caught suddenly want to become politicians?"

      Better them than those who have stolen the data in the first place, don't you think? Except those latter ones are already either politicians (bad) or bureaucrats (even worse) or spies (the worst).

    2. SDoradus

      Because in some jurisdictions a deputy to the national assembly is immune from any sort of prosecution.

      Because it's a way to bring your case to the general public and rub their noses in what is being done in their name.

      And because they can.

      "Fantastic grow the evening gowns;

      Agents of the Fisc pursue

      Absconding tax-defaulters through

      The sewers of provincial towns."

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So says he

    Mega Load says a lot of things, most of which are proven to be false. I'll bet he goes on a diet when in prison. That would be something good for his health.

  11. OzBob

    So long fatso

    Don't let the door hit you on the way out of the country.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

    How many of the above contributors used Megaupload? How many of you could fight back against a bunch of global gangsters, who call themselves the American Goverment? If you had the world set against you, like he has, how many of you would have the mettle to endure the mental pressure that he's had to......i'll fuckin tell ya, NONE of you! If you had to go through what that man has been through, you'd give up and down a bottle of bleach! You're all nothing but a bunch of 'keyboard heroes', you make me fucking sick.

    1. W.O.Frobozz

      Re: UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

      Let me guess...you're one of the brainless turds who used to fawn to Lord Kimble of the Kimpire on his sadly-defunct kimble.org ego site back in the day? I can smell a true believer from here...you swallowed Kimble's line of bull about being a "leet uber hacker" hook line and sinker...you believed he was a super-dooper billionaire building "Kimpanies" and using his super-dooper-hacker-brain to Dataprotect your data, right? And you probably believed him when he founded YIHAT, his super-dooper-leet skript kiddie "hacker" group who were gonna git that bin Laden guy with their incredible batch-file writing skills.

      Get it yet? Who's the moron who's been HAD here? Or were you even aware that "Dotcom" is really Kimble the charlatan all along? Did you really believe the big fat fraud was some kind of big fat Robin Hood?

      1. Woenk

        Re: UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

        aye....suits him welll.

        He never was a hacker, just a person seeking his one interest on the cost of others.

        He made a fortune out of it and just becuase he says he is broke now, may only mean that he does not have any gas to fly around the world 100 times.

        It may be bad for my karma, but I really enjoy his struggling. The only enlightment he found was money....he got fat with it and not really happy...he will die a poor bastard that never knew that life has more to offer

        ...and I really, really enjoy that...Karma is a bitch, and what he did 20 years ago gets back to him

      2. Suricou Raven

        Re: UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

        He stole from the rich and gave to the poor... and kept a generous cut for himself.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

        Well, I have some objections if we start with 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'fair trials' as tenets for a good legal system. Note that these would apply to ANY defendant not just KdC.

        - Chequebook justice by the USA: Hound and harangue until the defendant hasn't the means to defend themselves. That's not justice, that's financial bullying.

        - Selective justice. So, imagining Megaupload was harbouring all of these files and whatnot - why aren't ISPs and other 'supply chain' aprticipants in the gun? Do you punish the dealer but not the smuggler or the bloke who drives the speedboat?

        - A 'do first, ask for permission later' approach such as Illegal surveillance and seizure tactics.

        - Political interference in a civil or criminal matter. Never conducive to a fair trial.

        All this stuff needs to be above board for justice to be done and seen to be done.

    2. SDoradus

      Re: UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS

      "... how many of you would have the mettle to endure the mental pressure that he's had to..."

      Quite. I'd like to think I would, but... I've never downloaded an illegal tune in my life.

      That said, Dotcom might be a fat and carelessly criminal larrikin, but given what's been done to him in the name of the law, I hope the bugger prevails. I suspect, even if he's extradited and sent to a US jail for twenty years, in a way prevail he will.

  13. DaiKiwi

    Broke? - Yeah Right

    Not exactly know for living an abstemious lifestyle in the interim. And what has he got stashed away in his Family Trust?

    1. SDoradus

      Re: Broke? - Yeah Right

      He doesn't have a family anymore. His wife divorced him. Oddly, that tiny Chinese-Kiwi still speaks of him with admiration and affection.

      It's true the family is now living, fairly modestly, apart from him, surviving on the trust you mention. It wasn't all that big. He never owned his mansion, for example. It was rented.

  14. John Tserkezis

    I called him a cry baby way back when all this first started and I was voted down.

    Well news for you: Nothing's changed.

    1. LaeMing
      Facepalm

      Oh boo hoo: You were voted down.

      Crybaby!

  15. SomeoneInDelaware

    Perhaps Kim dot what ever could flee to North Korea and join the other Kim.

    Lovely thought.

  16. madmalc

    Some miserable gits out there

    I don't care what he's done - he's one of the more entertaining people on the planet. All the people who used mega upload should metaphorically buy him a a pint & contribute to his defence :-)

  17. DocJames

    Other careers

    Remember, he's honest enough to not be a politician. After the NZ election, he announced that the reason his party (a bizarre combination of his internet party and Mana, a single-politician Maori rights-for-the-poor party) failed so badly was "because the Kim Dotcom brand was poison."

    I've quite a bit of respect for anyone who's able to admit they're that wrong, having just splurged a significant amount of money on the election...

  18. holyf

    In all your righteous zealotry 'Kim dot com', don't forget that your millions were made off the creative labour and endeavours of others. Not saying that the media corporations or the U.S Government are righteous either, but you're certainly not and in my view, certain arguments and positions are closed to you at risk of extreme hypocrisy.

  19. Bonnibelle

    a thing about German villains,haha

    Overlords of war

  20. Bonnibelle

    Not exactly know for living an abstemious lifestyle in the interim.

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