14 DAY TRIAL // Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload, has finally won access to his confiscated assets.
In January 2012, Dotcom was arrested following a raid to his mansion. The United States asked for this assets to be seized and New Zealand’s courts eagerly agreed. After all this time, however, the order is set to expire and Dotcom will once more get access to his possessions.
The list is quite impressive and includes 18 luxury cars, artwork, jewelry and 64 bank accounts with over $218 million stored inside.
Judges were asked to extend the seizure to prevent Dotcom from getting his hands back on the money, but the demand was rejected earlier today. Unless there’s an appeal, the Internet mogul will get his assets back in the next couple of weeks.
Understandably, Dotcom is more than thrilled about the news. After all, he’s had to manage his business and handle his legal defense for two years without these resources. Now, he sees himself as invincible.
“The NZ asset ruling is HUGE. We’ve just filed a case in Hong Kong against unlawful seizure of #Megaupload. The U.S. case is falling apart!” Dotcom said.
Currently, Megaupload and its owners are featured in a bunch of lawsuits, including one from the movie studios in the US and one from the record labels, as well as one from the DoJ. Dotcom is now fighting extradition to the US, where he is accused of copyright infringement, money laundering and fraud.
“Our assets were seized for 800 days and still I was able to fight back even with my hands tied behind my back. Imagine what I can do now!!!” Dotcom said on his Twitter account.
He is also extremely happy that he’ll soon have access to his cards once again, promising to rent the Taupo race track for a day with Internet Party members to celebrate the event.
Dotcom, who changed his name back in 2005, while living in Hong Kong, has been hunted by the American authorities for a while. In fact, he believes that a contribution he made to WikiLeaks, the organization that keeps publishing classified documents belonging to various governments of the world, including the American one, made him a target.
In fact, prior to his arrest, Dotcom and his property had been into surveillance, an activity that the country’s top officials admitted was not exactly in accordance with the law.
Our assets were seized for 800 days and still I was able to fight back even with my hands tied behind my back. Imagine what I can do now!!!
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) April 16, 2014