Internet Mogul Kim Dotcom Plans To Fight Extradition From New Zealand

WELLINGTON, Aug 16 (Bernama-dpa) -- German-born internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom will appeal his extradition from New Zealand to the United States, one of his lawyers said on Friday', reported German news agency (dpa).

Late on Thursday, New Zealand's Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed the extradition order for Dotcom.

The tech mogul, born as Kim Schmitz in the German city of Kiel, has been in New Zealand since 2010. He is a German and Finnish national.

Dotcom has been facing potential extradition since his former home was raided by New Zealand police in 2012. 

The United States authorities have been trying to extradite Dotcom to face charges related to the now defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.

Ira Rothken, one of Dotcom's lawyers, wrote on social media platform X that a legal team was working on a judicial review to New Zealand's high court.

"The fight for justice continues. The world is watching," Rothken wrote.

Dotcom wrote on X that he loved New Zealand. "I'm not leaving," he said. "Don't worry I have a plan."

Megaupload made millions of dollars from advertising and premium subscriptions. At its peak, Megaupload was the 13th most popular site on the internet and accounted for 4 per cent of all online traffic.

Dotcom faces charges in the US which include criminal copyright infringement, racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. 

His associates, Germans Finn Batato and Mathias Ortmann and Dutch national Bram van der Kolk, were arrested alongside Dotcom in 2012.

Ortmann and van der Kolk were sentenced to jail terms in New Zealand in 2023 after entering plea deals. Batato died in 2022 in New Zealand.

-- BERNAMA-dpa