New Zealand Supreme Court dismisses appeal against Kim Dotcom’s extradition

New Zealand’s Supreme Court has dismissed one of the appeals against Kim Dotcom’s extradition to the US. Dotcom is accused of large-scale piracy in the US. He said on Twitter that he was “not impressed” with the ruling.

The former CEO of Megaupload can be sentenced in the United States to a maximum of twenty years in prison, writes Yahoo News. According to the indictment, at least $500 million in copyright was evaded through files shared on Megaupload. Dotcom is accused of racketeeringfraud and money laundering.

The legal dispute began in 2012, when the US requested the extradition of Dotcom, along with two others. In 2015, a New Zealand court ruled that the extradition could take place, after which Dotcom appealed to the High Court in New Zealand. The ruling was subsequently upheld, after which Dotcom went to the Court of Appeals. Here too, it was ruled that Dotcom may be extradited, after which Dotcom went to the Supreme Court.

That Court has now ruled that Dotcom and its co-defendants cannot appeal against aspects of the earlier judgment. In a published statement the Court rejects the argument that the Court of Appeals made an abusive ruling. “We believe that there is nothing further for the Court to do with regard to the proposed appeals, given our conclusion that there is no miscarriage of justice,” concluded three Supreme Court justices. The Court stated in its ruling that the other arguments cited “have insufficient success to justify an appeal to the Supreme Court”.

dotcom responds on Twitter that he is ‘unimpressed’ by the verdict. “I’ll start live streaming in January. 2022 will be fun. Enjoy the holidays.” Dotcom has not responded substantively to the decision of the Court. It is not clear whether Dotcom can or will take further legal action.