Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom granted bail

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The founder of file-sharing site Megaupload has been granted bail by a New Zealand court.

Kim Dotcom, 38, has been in prison since 20 January at the request of the US authorities.

He faces charges in the US for one of the biggest copyright infringement cases in the country's history.

The site is accused of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue.

Flight risk
North Shore District Court Judge Nevin Dawson overturned two previous rulings that the millionaire, who is a German national, was an "extreme flight risk" because he had the money and connections to get out of the country.

The judge said the risk had diminished because all his funds were seized and no new assets or bank accounts had been uncovered.

Speaking to reporters in Auckland, Mr Dotcom said he was "relieved to go home to see my family, my three little kids and my pregnant wife".

On 17 February Mr Dotcom was charged with three new criminal copyright counts and five new wire fraud counts.

That is on top of one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of criminal copyright infringement charges.

US authorities are seeking to extradite Mr Dotcom, who changed his name legally from Schmitz, and three other co-defendants who had earlier been granted bail.

Denied charges
The US Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation allege that Megaupload and its related sites made millions in 'criminal proceeds' by sharing pirated copies of movies, music and other content.

Founded in 2005, the site was shut down by authorities last month.

They also seized millions of dollars worth of assets owned by Mr Dotcom including luxury cars, artwork and investments.

Mr Dotcom has denied any criminal misconduct and has said he will fight extradition to the US.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17122866
 
Removed your double post, and I had also posted this, but you were first so removed mine :P



Wondering how much the bail was...
A shit load of money for sure.
 
High hundred thousands, low millions, perhaps?

I think the US is just using Dotcom as an example. Their Government was asked by Hollywood to arrest these people because they were losing money, and they wanted some form of revenge.

There are legitimate reasons behind MegaUpload, it's just deep-pocketed investors and producers, etc. are so disappointed they're not making that extra $1 million on top of their hundreds of millions of dollars they already have. Be greedy and have a lot of money and you can pretty much do whatever you'd like.
 
^ They do indeed use him as an example. But using people as an example is never fair.
 
Mave said:
^ They do indeed use him as an example. But using people as an example is never fair.
Exactly. They want to scare people. If I'm correct, they're attempting a "Guilty until proven Innocent" approach to anything and everything. Even an Australian who just linked torrents on a website he created has been detained and extradited to America, is awaiting trial.

They're also using him as an example. Where's the Australian government at this point?
Kissing America's ass, that's where.

I'm thinking of pursuing a career in politics myself to try and correct all the screw-ups of the Australian government. I believe, personally, that I would be elected duly for the fact that I would back the people all the way.
 
The sad truth is that politics are a dirty game and if you aren't willing to play dirty yourself, you aren't going anywhere. Shouldn't be this way but this is what the world has come to.
 
Fries said:
The sad truth is that politics are a dirty game and if you aren't willing to play dirty yourself, you aren't going anywhere. Shouldn't be this way but this is what the world has come to.

Sadly enough you're speaking the truth...
 
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