Kim Dotcom faces U.S. extradition after pair make deal

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, –

Two men were charged by U.S. authorities with racketeering, and other crimes in connection to their participation in Megaupload, a file-sharing site that was once very popular. saidThey reached an agreement Tuesday that will prevent them from being extradited the U.S. for their New Zealand charges.

Megaupload’s former officers Mathias Ortmann & Bram van der Kolk have agreed to end the case. However, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom still faces extradition to the U.S.

Megaupload was shut down by the United States in 2012. It claimed that it had earned at least US$175million from illegally downloading songs, TV shows, and movies. According to the Department of Justice, it is the most serious criminal copyright case in American history.

Dotcom, along with the other men, are facing the possibility of spending years in U.S. Jails if convicted. Dotcom has fought for extradition through New Zealand over the past 10 year.

The Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled last year that the trio could be extradited. It was up to Justice Minister Kris Faafoi, however, to make the final decision regarding extradition. Even that decision can be appealed.

Peter Spring, Ortmann, and van der Kolk made the following statement through their lawyer. saidThey knew that the uncertainty in the case would continue to be a burden on their lives, and it was now time to move on.

“Accordingly, we have reached an agreement with the New Zealand Government and the United States of America under which we have agreed to be charged in New Zealand for offences similar to those we face in the United States.”

The pair added that New Zealand was now their home “and we want to stay here.”

Dotcom’s lawyers and the other men argued for years that anyone guilty in this case was not the founders but the users. Prosecutors say that the men were responsible for a large-scale criminal enterprise.

Dotcom and two other men were once good friends. However, they fell out after Megaupload closed.

Dotcom posted a series tweets on Tuesday. saidHe didn’t blame his friends, but they would be witnesses against him as part their deal.

“I want to congratulate my former friends and partners to have found a case resolution,” Dotcom wrote. “They can avoid the terrible US Justice system. I’m happy for them. I can understand why they gave up after 10 years of US lawfare. I don’t blame them and I sincerely wish them all the best.”

Dotcom promised to continue fighting for the case.

“I won’t accept the injustice we have been subjected to,” he wrote. “If I have to go to jail for what Megaupload users did on our site then many Big Tech CEOs are in the same boat with me.”

U.S. Prosecutors had already dropped the extradition bid against Finn Batato (a fourth employee of the company) who was held in New Zealand.

Megaupload computer programmer Andrus Nommem, Estonia, pleaded guilty to conspiring in felony copyright infringement. He was sentenced to one-year and one-day in U.S. federal jail.