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Kim Dotcom Expects New Raid After “Secret Orders” Issued in U.S.
Kim Dotcom Expects New Raid & Bail Revocation After “Secret Orders” Issued in U.S.
Andy Maxwell, TF 13 May 2024
During a telephone call with Kim Dotcom, following the unprecedented raids that dismantled his Megaupload file-hosting empire in 2012, the tech entrepreneur insisted that this was no ordinary case.
It wasn’t just a massively scaled-up version of piracy raids we’d reported on dozens of times before either.
This prosecution had high-level politics not just at its core, but running so pervasively throughout that every twisted fiber had become inseparable from the corrupt corridors of power, Dotcom said. From the political goals of Joe Biden and the Democrats, to the importance of Hollywood support in a post-SOPA reality, much was at stake.
Dotcom Fights Back, Embraces Politics
Over twelve years later, the politics of the ‘Megaupload conspiracy’ are very much alive and for that, Dotcom shoulders much of the credit. The actions of U.S. and New Zealand authorities may have determined that path initially but, since then, Dotcom has done everything his power to
ensure that his legal defense remains a persistent, controversial, politically-sensitive irritant.
Dotcom’s former Megaupload colleagues, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, fought back for a decade. But while Dotcom dug a policy trench of combative non-negotiation, his former friends were always less abrasive. Last year they did what Dotcom vowed never to do; they seized the opportunity to compromise, take the punishment, but crucially put over ten years of anxiety and uncertainty behind them.
Dotcom notes that the pair were originally charged with crimes potentially worth 186 years in federal prison should they have been extradited to the U.S.. Instead, an agreement saw them plead guilty to different offenses under New Zealand law and last year they were sentenced to 30 and 31 months in prison.
“10 Months in a Wellness Retreat”
Little has been heard of Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk since they were sentenced around 11 months ago. In an update to his social media followers, Dotcom recently claimed the men are already free.
“I hear that my co-defendants in the Megaupload case have recently been released after 10 months in what US prisoners would consider a New Zealand Wellness Retreat. They were originally charged with 186 years by the US DOJ for the so called ‘Mega conspiracy’ and got off with a 99.5% discount in exchange for false confessions. Obviously they just wanted to move on with their lives after 10 years on bail,” Dotcom wrote.
“No doubt the US DOJ and NZ Police will have milked my former friends and partners for every bit of criminal fantasy that they could extract. Before the National Govt and their Justice Minister decide to extradite me they will need some new bad optics: Kim Dotcom bad man. The US DOJ is currently working on delivering that to the National Govt of New Zealand and I’m sure we will learn about fantastic new tales before the Minister makes his extradition decision.”
To The Bitter, Political End
That Dotcom says he intends to fight, for as long as it takes, and he’s “looking forward to it,” will have been anticipated. However, the extradition decision will be issued by the government, not by a court, leaving room for more political complications should Dotcom face extradition to the United States.
Dotcom says that on the legal front, an adverse decision will lead to a judicial review and up to five years fighting in court where the New Zealand government will have to explain the “maliciousness and unlawfulness” in his case.
“These are real proceedings with discovery. We intend to get deep into the machinations of what really happened and we are well prepared. No doubt the Attorney General will try to get this in front of selected Judges like they did before. There’s a trail of promotions and titles for those who ruled against us in the past.
But it will only add more stains to the New Zealand judiciary if reasonable requests for discovery are declined and approval for unreasonable redactions and secrecy is granted,” Dotcom adds. “One thing is sure. We will fight to the very end,” he continues. “If I am eventually extradited to the United States it will happen at a great cost to New Zealand. Something I’m sure the perpetrators who have subverted New Zealand law for the US Govt will care little about.”
Case in the United States “Forever Tainted”
Dotcom’s political framing of the case against him hasn’t changed in the past 12 years. He describes a Joe Biden-sanctioned plot executed by copyright lobbyist Neil McBride, who Biden promoted to the role of US DOJ prosecutor for the purpose of destroying Megaupload on behalf of Hollywood. However, a more recent complication in the case seems to be viewed as more useful.
In 2022, District Court Judge Liam O’Grady was replaced in the civil cases pending against Dotcom in the United States. Shortly after the same judge recused himself from the criminal case too.
Describing the judge as “handpicked by the DOJ” to order the “destruction of Megaupload ex parte (without a hearing),” it transpired that he was previously a lawyer for Disney and while presiding over the Megaupload case, an active Disney shareholder.
Dotcom claims that this finding, which he believes taints the whole case, will have had an impact on the yet-to-be-handed-down decision of the New Zealand Minister of Justice to extradite him or not.
Sudden Movement in U.S. Criminal Case
With Dotcom clearly concerned over what information may have been given to the authorities by his former colleagues in New Zealand, a recent unexpected development in the U.S. criminal case seems to be adding to the pressure.
Dotcom says that after eight years of inactivity, the Department of Justice recently filed new ex parte motions under seal, asking the U.S. court to issue orders in secret, without his legal team being able to respond. The docket shows that is indeed the case.
“The new National Govt in New Zealand is proudly mean spirited and aggressively sucking up to the US Govt and has likely coordinated with the US DOJ to get new US Court orders that enable them to attack me, again,” Dotcom says.
“It’s not coming as a surprise. This is what I told you would happen after National won the election in New Zealand recently. The new Attorney General, Judith Collins, is as ‘dirty politics’ as they get and many years ago she declared openly in Parliament “I hope that Kim Dotcom will soon be extradited.”
The fact that she’s now in a position of power over my case couldn’t be a bigger conflict of interest after that statement. But that’s where we are.”
Dotcom Expects Another Raid, Bail Revocation
At this stage Dotcom appears to have no clear evidence on what’s coming next, but he has a few predictions.
“[W]hatever this new action by the US DOJ is it will be malicious, dirty and without substance. I have done nothing wrong,” he says.
“They want to silence me and take my freedom away. I’m expecting another raid, seizure of my devices and arrest with the goal to get my bail revoked and to stop me from being so successfully loud about the corruption that has ruined the United States and turned New Zealand into a nation that is subverting its on laws to please their US masters.
“It won’t be long until they take action. The US Judge will give the DOJ what they are asking for and the New Zealand Govt is ready to act for the evildoers who want to destroy me,” Dotcom concludes.
One of Dotcom’s “Closest Friends” Faces Extradition to the U.S.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, charging him with tax evasion causing an alleged loss to the IRS “of at least $48 million.” Following his arrest in Spain, the United States is working to extradite Ver to stand trial.
Following its collapse in 2023, Kim Dotcom’s BitCache venture is now in liquidation. Originally marketed as Megaupload 2.0, Ver was the second-largest shareholder in BitCache. While there’s nothing in the indictment to suggest any wrongdoing at BitCache, Dotcom describes Ver’s prosecution as similar to his own.
“This is a malicious attempt to vilify Roger and to punish him for exposing and opposing the crimes of US empire. Roger Ver is one of my closest friends and I vouch for his integrity and exemplary leadership,” Dotcom concludes.
Kim Dotcom 1st Police Raid Video Released
MegaUpload's Kim Dotcom: Winning in Court and New Zealand Public Opinion
Kim Dotcom Can’t Prevent NZ Govt. Sending Hard Drives & Passwords to FBI
Kim Dotcom Can’t Prevent NZ Govt. Sending Hard Drives & Passwords to FBI
Defying even the broadest definition of ‘justice’ or even basic common sense, more than 12 years after his initial arrest, Kim Dotcom is still fighting the New Zealand government on every detail of his case.
TF 1 JUL 2024
Given that the booby prize for not doing so is an all-expenses-paid trip to the United States, few could blame him. But why this has been allowed to drag on for so long can only be answered by New Zealand’s government.
Whether Dotcom is eventually found innocent or guilty, justice needs to be seen to be done. There’s no denying Dotcom’s significant contribution to undermining the case against him but, as the defendant, it’s his job to find errors and blunders to exploit. And there has been no shortage of those and from the outside, the optics are not great.
Seized Hard Drives
During the 2012 operation to shut down Megaupload, around 135 devices were seized by law enforcement in New Zealand. Yet it was a full decade before the High Court ruled that devices belonged to Dotcom
Kim Dotcom Denied Leave to Appeal Dismissal of Appeal Against Human Rights Decision
Kim Dotcom Denied Leave to Appeal High Court’s Dismissal of His Appeal Against Human Rights Tribunal Decision
Three years after the raids that dismantled his Megaupload empire, it was clear that Kim Dotcom was digging in for the long haul.
TF 3 AUG 2024
Whether even he anticipated just how long that haul would be is unclear. Having taken every imaginable step to make his prosecution and likely extradition as difficult as possible, it certainly can’t be ruled out.
For Dotcom, information has proven to be a valuable and flexible commodity; in 2015 he made dozens of requests to numerous government departments to gain what he described as ‘urgent’ access to information to assist in his looming extradition defense.
Vexatious Requests Denied
With Dotcom’s case already a political hot potato, decisions were made to transfer these requests, mostly under s39 of the Privacy Act, to then-Solicitor General Chris Finlayson. Due to their broad scope, allegedly including demands for trivial information, Finlayson labeled the requests frivolous and ultimately vexatious.
The Solicitor General noted that the July 2015 information requests were labeled urgent because Dotcom’s extradition eligibility hearing was due to take place in September at the District Court.
However, the nature of the requests led him to conclude that their true purpose was to disrupt that hearing and since they weren’t made in good faith, he rejected them all. Dotcom Takes Legal Action
Dotcom denied he had an ulterior motive and followed up with legal action, claiming that the government was holding back information to which he was legally entitled.
In Dotcom v Crown Law Office [2018] NZHRRT 7 (pdf), the Human Rights Review Tribunal found that the Crown had indeed interfered with Kim Dotcom’s privacy by rejecting what was described as “multiple, near identical, Privacy Act requests made to all Ministers and nearly every government department for all personal information held about him.”
For “loss of dignity or injury to feelings” Dotcom won NZ$60,000 in damages plus another NZ$30,000 to compensate for the lack of disclosure. The Crown appealed that decision and in September 2018 the matter was heard at the High Court in Wellington.
High Court Sides With Solicitor-General
The High Court agreed with the Solicitor-General, noting that the requests were transferred for lawful reasons. The Court described the earlier damages award in favor of Dotcom as “wholly erroneous.” There was no evidence to show that the information being sought was even relevant to the extradition proceedings, the High Court ruled.
Months earlier, the government had actually started to respond to Dotcom’s requests and by mid-June 2018, “tranches of information” had been handed over to Dotcom, with a few exceptions for legal reasons.
Nevertheless, the High Court’s decision in October 2018 was labeled “a bad day for human rights” by Dotcom, who took his many grievances to the Court of Appeal.
Court of Appeal Sides With Dotcom
The Court of Appeal eventually sided with Dotcom and, by broad extension, the decision in his favor at the Human Rights Review Tribunal earlier. The transfer of the information requests between government departments breached Dotcom’s privacy, the Court of Appeal confirmed. All that remained was to determine the scale of Dotcom’s damages award.
Having previously ruled in favor of Dotcom with an award of NZ$90,000, in February 2022 the Tribunal decided that this time around, Dotcom wouldn’t receive a penny.
In response, Dotcom appealed once more to the High Court, but it also declined to award him damages. When Dotcom applied for leave to appeal the High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal, the High Court rejected that too.
Application for Special Leave to Appeal
Never one to give up, Dotcom filed an application at the Court of Appeal. He requested special leave to appeal the decision of the High Court, which had dismissed his appeal against the decision of the Human Rights Review Tribunal, which had awarded him zero damages.
Late last month, Dotcom’s application for special leave to appeal was declined by the Court of Appeal. The reasoning behind that decision is laid out in considerable detail in the court’s decision, which is linked below.
What is clear, however, is that Dotcom’s focus on receiving an award for damages for “loss of benefit” under New Zealand’s Privacy Act, concerned his inability to use the information requested during the extradition proceedings. That failed to move the needle at the Court of Appeal.
“It is clear from the various judgments given in the extradition proceedings that there would have been no benefit to Mr Dotcom if he had received the information requested at the time the extradition proceedings were underway.
The Courts consistently held that the peripheral matters raised by Mr Dotcom were irrelevant to the extradition process, given the Court’s limited role in determining a person’s eligibility for surrender,” the Court of Appeal’s decision reads.
“Following the Tribunal complaint decision, Mr Dotcom sought to raise before this Court the fact that the Tribunal had found that there had been an interference with his privacy and had awarded him [NZ]$90,000 in damages for breach of the 1993 Act.
Mr Dotcom argued that the Tribunal complaint decision was relevant to the extradition hearing, because it confirmed an abuse of process that would undermine public confidence in the judicial system.
“This Court disagreed. It noted that the conduct at issue did not come close to establishing the high threshold required to stay extradition proceedings and that the attempt to rely on it for this purpose was misconceived.”
Tactics Noted But Ultimately Unsuccessful
Other matters were also considered by the Court, none of which went in Dotcom’s favor. In closing, the Court of Appeal made a general assessment of events relating to this application. From a few steps back, attributing it to most side issues raised by the defense, before numerous courts in more recent years, might not be an especially big stretch.
“This Court’s primary function is to clarify the law. It is not every alleged error of law that is of such importance, either generally or to the parties, as to justify the further pursuit of issues which have already been considered on multiple occasions. That is very much the case with the present application,” the decision reads.
In the absence of “any other reason” that would make it appropriate to grant Dotcom special leave to appeal, the application was denied.
Kim Dotcoms’ Extradition to the U.S APPROVED By New Zealand
Kim Dotcoms’ Extradition to the U.S. Given Green Light By New Zealand
After years of legal proceedings, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has approved Kim Dotcom's extradition to the United States.
The Megaaupload founder faces criminal copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering charges, which in theory could lead to decades in prison.
TF 16 AUG 2024
Dotcom says he has a plan and doesn't intend to leave the country.
More than twelve years have passed since Megaupload became the prime target in a high-profile law enforcement operation, which led to the collapse of Kim Dotcom’s file-storage empire.
While time moved on, the New Zealand-based ‘Internet personality’ was still waiting to hear whether he would be extradited to the United States where a criminal prosecution is pending.
With the stakes this high, no legal resources are being spared. Many millions of dollars have been poured into this legal battle since 2012, and the end is still nowhere in sight.
In 2020, the Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled that Kim Dotcom and his colleagues could indeed be extradited to the United States. However, this still wasn’t set in stone, as judicial reviews and appeals were still pending.
Megaupload defendants van der Kolk and Ortmann eventually opted for a deal. The pair pled guilty but were allowed to serve their respective 30 and 31-month prison sentences in New Zealand. Dotcom, meanwhile, vowed to ‘fight on’.
“I’m now the last man standing in this fight and I will continue to fight because unlike my co-defendants I won’t accept the injustice we have been subjected to,” Dotcom said two years ago.
Justice Minister Signs Dotcom Extradition
In recent years, Dotcom hasn’t shied away from the public eye, often sharing controversial takes on political and societal events. In the background, however, potential extradition loomed, before reaching its conclusion earlier today.
According to Stuff, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith informed Kim Dotcom that he will be deported to the United States to stand trial.
“I have received extensive advice from the Ministry of Justice on this matter,” Goldsmith said. “I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial.”
“As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not, therefore, be commenting further at this stage,” the Justice Minister added.
Dotcom has always denied the charges and has left no stone unturned in support of his defense. This means that the latest extradition decision will be challenged as well.
‘I Have a Plan’
The Ministry of Justice confirmed the extradition order earlier today. Dotcom revealed the decision on social media earlier in the week, describing New Zealand as an “obedient U.S. colony”.
“[T]he obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload, unsolicited, and what copyright holders were able to remove with direct delete access instantly and without question. But who cares? That’s justice these days,” he wrote on Tuesday.
Today, Dotcom followed up, stating that he has “a plan,” “loves New Zealand,” and doesn’t intend to leave the country.
Thats All Folks: KimCartoons Piracy Caper Ends in DMCA Disaster
Thats All Folks: KimCartoons 120m Visit Piracy Caper Ends in a DMCA Disaster
KimCartoon, a pirate site dedicated to all things cartoon, surprised users this week with a sudden "That's All Folks" before shutting itself down.
With an estimated 120 million visits over the last 12 months alone, KimCartoon was a very busy site and with that kind of traffic, life can get complicated. The site's operator says the site was shut down "due to DMCA" but, after weathering many storms over the years, maybe there's a little bit more to it than that.
KimCartoon offered a much wider variety of cartoons. From decades-old classics and sought-after rarities, to modern cartoons and other fan favorites, KimCartoon reportedly came up with the goods. At least it did, before it abruptly shut down this week.
Kim Dotcom Fends Off Arrest Before Conspiracy Theories & Reality Collide
Dotcom Disappearing For Three Weeks.
TF 11 OCT 2024
Kim Dotcoms war of attrition, against the governments of New Zealand and the United States, seems to have entered a new phase. In August, New Zealands Justice Minister authorized Kim Dotcoms immediate arrest and extradition. Dotcom's response to his followers on X was simple: "I'm not leaving." Another post mid-September - "we are very close to disaster" - led to Dotcom disappearing for three weeks.
On his return, Dotcom said X had suspended his account, based on an extremely serious allegation. After accusing Elon Musk of failing to help, yesterday Dotcom warned that a Trump loss would see Musk indicted and "fighting for his life." Dotcom has a plan to avoid extradition; chaos like this provides the fuel.
After 12 years of legal action, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith approved Dotcom?s extradition to the United States back in August.
New Zealand Herald recently obtained a copy of the order. As far as we know, the order still hasn?t been published in full, but it did authorize Dotcom?s immediate arrest.
I authorize any constable to take Kim Dotcom, who is currently on bail, into custody, the order reads, as per NZ Heralds report. The rest of the text matches the standard extradition document format as shown below.
With a reputation for challenging orders from the New Zealand and United States governments, Dotcoms response was true to form.
I love New Zealand. Im not leaving, he told his 1.7 million followers on X.
Dotcom Extradition Decision is Lawful, Review Denied Extradition Authorized
Kim Dotcom Extradition Decision Was Lawful, Judicial Review Denied
In 2024, New Zealands Minister of Justice approved Kim Dotcoms extradition to the United States, where the Megaupload founder faces charges of criminal copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering.
Andy Maxwell 17 SEP 2025
As expected, Dotcom requested a judicial review of the Ministers decision, arguing bias, bad faith, and the potential for grossly disproportionate punishment. The High Court found no argument persuasive.
After riding a wave of popularity, fame and fortune, in 2012 Kim Dotcoms filestorage empire, with Megaupload as the centerpiece, was dismantled in a high profile law enforcement operation.
Coordinated action in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania was unprecedented in a copyright case. The extent of the collaboration between the United States and New Zealand authorities was always controversial, with some aspects of the local investigation subsequently declared illegal.
Yet despite years of legal wrangling and the inevitable appeal against every adverse ruling, nothing could completely derail the case against Dotcom, or prevent New Zealands Supreme Court giving extradition the green light in 2020.
Minister of Justice Authorizes Extradition
Four years after the Supreme Court rendered its decision, in August 2024 New Zealands Minister of Justice authorized Dotcoms surrender to the United States.
What followed was an inevitable appeal by Dotcom, in this case an application for judicial review of the Minister of Justices decision. Dotcom claimed the decision was tainted by bias and bad faith, and further complicated by the favorable treatment of his former co defendants.
Application for Judicial Review
Until 2023, Megaupload coders Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk were also fighting extradition. After striking a deal with the New Zealand authorities, they admitted crimes attracting comparatively lighter sentences than those they would've faced in the U.S. Importantly, the deal eliminated extradition altogether.
Dotcoms request for judicial review described the disparity between U.S. and New Zealand sentencing as intrinsically grossly disproportionate
However, had Dotcom also been prosecuted in New Zealand, he believes he would've still been treated more harshly and received a far stiffer sentence than the 2.5 year prison terms handed to Ortmann and van der Kolk. He had previously asked the authorities to charge him in New Zealand but the police refused to do so.
A High Court ruling by Justice Christine Grice dated September 10 roundly rejects Dotcoms allegations. The Court found no evidence of any conduct amounting to a breach of the Extradition Treaty, bad faith, or an abuse of process.
If convicted, Dotcoms sentence in the United States is likely to be substantially higher than a sentence for similar offenses in New Zealand. The Court acknowledges that but indicates that the assumed severity is not enough to affect the decision to extradite
What happens next has not been disclosed, but options at this stage are much more limited than they were.
The exhaustion of every available option seems the most likely outcome but on what timeline is even more difficult to predict.
Kim Dotcom Expects New Raid After “Secret Orders” Issued in U.S.
Kim Dotcom Denied Leave to Appeal Dismissal of Appeal Against Human Rights Decision
Thats All Folks: KimCartoons Piracy Caper Ends in DMCA Disaster
Kim Dotcom Suffers Serious Stroke & Cannot Communicate Well
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