Kim Dotcom is closer to extradition in the United States after a judicial setback

The Court of Appeals of 19459008 New Zealand today ratified a decision favorable to the l & # 39; extradition of German businessman Kim Dotcom to the United States. to be tried for violation of the author's right, a decision that the latter will appeal to the Supreme Court of New Zealand.

The court noted that extradition is now in the hands of the New Zealand Department of Justice. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal stated that "an extradition hearing is not a substantive trial and the evidence on which the United States is relying discloses a a clear prima facie case (with prima facie reasonable evidence) that supports the allegations that those who appealed conspired and intentionally infringed the copyright and on a large scale "

This is the the third setback for Kim Dotcom after the Superior Court and another lower court ruled in February 2017 and December 2015 in favor of extradition requested by the United States. against the founder of the closed portal Megaupload and three of its partners for 13 crimes, including organized crime, money laundering and electronic fraud.

In his time, the High Court considered Dotcom, with his former partners, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, can be tried in the United States for a fraud case, an offense covered by the treaty of Extradition, but not for charges of copyright infringement.

Dotcom, who was arrested In January 2012, at the mansion he rented out of Auckland as part of a large police operation orchestrated by the US FBI , he said he was "extremely disappointed" by today 's decision because he does not recognize that there has been no criminal violation of the copyright law. author. "

" The decision exposes Internet service providers to criminal liability for the misuse of their services by users, as my counter " said l & 39; computer in a statement.

The Court of Appeals, New Zealand's second court, says that now the case is in the hands of the New Zealand Justice Minister, Andrew Little, if the Extradition is carried out under the 1999 Extradition Act which governs the oceanic country.

But Dotcom has badured that it will continue to deliver the legal battle and that it will go to the Supreme Court of the country

Cases are not won in the Court of Appeal or in the lower courts, but are won in the Supreme Court, my case being one " said the New Zealand based business man.

US authorities estimate that Megaupload, the download portal founded by Dotcom, reported about 175 million dollars (149 million euros). hosting illegal material among its 50 million users.

If Dotcom and his badociates are found guilty in the United States, they may be sentenced to several decades in prison in that country.

Up to now, seven members of Megaupload accused in the United States has only been sentenced Estonian programmer Andrus Nomm, who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of a little more than 39, a year in this country, which has already met, after admitting that he has violated the right of the author.

founder of Megaupload, born in 1974 in the German city of Kiel and baptized Kim Schmitz, he changed his name to Dotcom in 2005 in the honor of technology that allowed him to ambad a fortune through the exchange of files in the Internet

Two meters tall, 130 kilograms in weight and without university studies, Dotcom was behind various projects such as the DataProtect computer security company broke and was known to lead a life of luxury in Hong Kong or New Zealand. EFE