Kim Dotcom hearing finally underway

Following an over three-year legal battle, and four years after the raid on his Coatesville mansion, the extradition hearing for heavily indebted serial internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom began yesterday in Auckland.

US officials have been trying to get the German-Finnish 41-year-old and his co-accused - Mathias Ortmann, Fin Batato and Bram van der Kolk  - extradited back to the US since 2012. The four are being investigated over alleged copyright violation through Dotcom’s file-sharing site Megaupload and charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

The first day of the hearing yesterday was predominantly procedural. It saw the US Justice Department allege Dotcom and the accused violated copyright which generated more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds, and caused more than US$500 million in harm to copyright owners.

While Megaupload was shut down in January 2012 following Dotcom’s arrest, the FBI had been investigating him since 2010.

To be extradited, the prosecution has to prove the charges may have been committed under both US and New Zealand law. The accused are yet to be charged in New Zealand.

Dotcom himself has been seeking to the delay the hearing, stating he needed time and funds to bring in expert witnesses from the US to mount a proper defense; however it was announced the attempt had failed earlier this month.

If extradited back to the US for prosecution, the violation carries decades of jail time. However Dotcom has maintained his innocence from the beginning of the legal wrangling and told Radio New Zealand yesterday: “What matters is that we are all innocent. No one here had any criminal intent.”

Regardless, both parties have the option to appeal the decision following the hearing so any resolution to the legal battle could take years.

:: Kim Dotcom explains why he leaked the partnership discussion with UMG