New Zealand Court of Appeal upholds decision to extradite Kim Dotcom and his Megaupload colleagues

Today, the internet entrepreneur known as Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz, and three of his ex-colleagues lost their appeal against an order of a New Zealand court to extradite them to the US. New Zealand’s Court of Appeal upheld earlier court rulings and decided that the three men should be handed over to US authorities. Since that decision, Kim Dotcom’s lawyer has stated that they will be looking to file an appeal with the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
Today’s Court of Appeal decision is the latest decision in the case, which began in 2012 when US authorities shut down Kim Dotcom’s website Megaupload. The authorities then filed charges of conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering against the men.
Lawyers for Kim Dotcom have argued that he cannot be held responsible for the fact that users chose to use his website for illegal purposes. He also argues that the case should be held in a civil not criminal court. Kim Dotcom’s lawyers maintain that he never lived in, visited, or owned a company in the US.