Entrepreneur and hacker Kim Dotcom is finally set to be extradited to the U.S. from New Zealand, reports TorrentFreak, after Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith approved the flight. Dotcom's wanted on charges of criminal copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering concerning various internet shenanigans of the post-millenial era, most notably the file-sharing platform Megaupload.
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.
Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while! Dotcom seems typical of that group of interesting internet rogues frozen in place and time by state power and legal problems, their freedom-lovin' brains minced into reactionary chum under the pressure.
