How Megaupload fugitive Mr Dotcom is winning over the public in NZ
When New Zealand software developer, Ben Gracewood, saw this picture posted by Kim Dotcom on Twitter of three of his associates with golf buggies and a Segway , he posted an envious Tweet .
Living the high life . . Mr Dotcom's friends in NZ
Internet tycoon Mr Dotcom, 38-year-old founder of the Megaupload file-sharing site shut down by the F.B.I. is now living in luxury near Auckland.
Gracewood's tweet asked if “you guys just drive around in modified electric vehicles and pose for photos . . .I could live like that.”
Twenty minutes later , the New York Times reports, he was astounded to get a reply,“Come over now!”
So Gracewood took a friend and went to the most expensive house in the country — a mansion worth ¢16 million rented by the German Mr Dotcom — for a swim and some cupcakes.
Twitter users across New Zealand watched with fascination as the group posted updates and photos of the visit, followed on Twitter under #swimatkims .
The story of how Mr. Dotcom has become a cult hero since his arrest in NZ is related in the Times today . He had kept a low profile in the two years he had been living there - until January. Then two police helicopters landed on the lawn of his mansion.
The police operation — carried out under New Zealand’s extradition treaty with the United States — "seemed designed to attract attention," said the Times.
Mr. Dotcom was found sitting near a shotgun after police cut their way into in a panic room .
He and three others connected with Megaupload were arrested in connection with U.S. indictments on charges involving copyright infringement and money laundering.
The Department of Justice said the individuals and two companies — Megaupload and Vestor — had been charged with “engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement.”
This month, Mr. Dotcom’s U.S. lawyers will try to have the criminal case dismissed in a Virginia court .
The four men arrested in New Zealand are still out on bail, awaiting an extradition hearing, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 6.
Among the items seized by the police were 18 luxury vehicles worth $6 million— including a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and a 1959 pink Cadillac — and up to a $11 million cash.
In an e-mail interview, Mr. Dotcom said the New Zealand police and the government were simply kowtowing to U.S. requests.
“Two helicopters and 76 heavily armed officers to arrest a man alleged of copyright crimes — think about that,” he wrote. “Hollywood is importing their movie scripts into the real world .”
After a month in jail , Mr. Dotcom was eventually granted bail, despite prosecutors’ arguments that he was a serious flight risk. His lawyers went on successfully to loosen the bail conditions and get back some of his confiscated cash .
The biggest victory came last week , when a High Court judge ruled the New Zealand police had used the wrong type of search warrant, so the entire raid had been illegal. Now tomorrow his lawyers will seek the return of seized assets and data.
Mr. Dotcom it seems has been steadily gaining the public’s favour, said the Times. A headline on the news Web site Stuff.co.nz in May read, “Dotcom’s straight talk wins over Kiwis.”