Megaupload extradition bid - Feds WON'T have to hand in their evidence
Summary of the data enough for Dotcom decision, says court
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A New Zealand court has ruled that the Feds don’t have to turn over all their evidence against Megaupload kingpin Kim Dotcom to get him extradited.
The Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that the FBI had to tip its hand to Dotcom so that he could fairly contest the case against him, Reuters and others reported.
Dotcom faces allegations of online piracy, fraud and money-laundering in connection with the file-sharing site Megaupload, which the Feds allege made $175m since 2005 by copying and distributing copyrighted content including movies and music without authorisation.
The file-sharing tycoon's defence is that the site was just a storage facility and it shouldn’t be held responsible for what content people chose to keep there. Undeterred by the accusations against him, he launched a new file-sharing site called Mega in January this year.
The Court of Appeal said that a summary of the evidence would be enough to back up the plea for extradition. William Akel, one of Dotcom’s lawyers, told Radio New Zealand that Dotcom may try to appeal the decision in New Zealand’s Supreme Court.
"How can you determine whether or not there has been compliance with candor and good faith if you don't know what documents are being relied on to support the case?" he said.
The extradition hearing for Dotcom and three other defendants is scheduled to be held in August. ®
