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Kim Dotcom Says Legal Fight Has Left Him Broke

Posted by timothy on from the broke-the-bench dept.

mrspoonsi writes Kim Dotcom, the founder of the seized file-sharing site Megaupload, has declared himself "broke". The entrepreneur said he had spent $10m (£6.4m) on legal costs since being arrested in New Zealand in 2012 and accused of internet piracy. Mr Dotcom had employed a local law firm to fight the US's attempt to extradite him, but his defence team stepped down a fortnight ago without explaining why. Mr Dotcom said he would now represent himself at a bail hearing on Thursday. He denies charges of racketeering, conspiring to commit copyright infringement and money laundering. He told a conference in London, via a video link, that his lawyers had resigned because he had run out of money. "The [US authorities] have certainly managed to drain my resources and dehydrate me, and without lawyers I am defenceless," he said. "They used that opportunity to try and get my bail revoked and that's what I'm facing."

10 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Justice is served! by zentigger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you can't actually beat 'em, just bankrupt 'em or drive 'em to suicide!

    I love the modern concept of "justice"

    --

    the above is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect that of the little voices in my head

    1. Re:Justice is served! by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      considering the money he spent on extravagance, political campaigning and other crap I would hardly say he was bankrupted by the system. System may not have helped but his own spending is more of an issue here.

    2. Re:Justice is served! by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They didn't bankrupt him; he did that.

      That's splitting hairs. Without his legal team, he had been extradited by now.

      But this is commercial infringement.

      Highly doubtful. He offered free access to delete content, a system similar to the one that Youtube has implemented, and had an additional team of employees to deal with copyright complaints. Three different legal teams checked the business model and gave him the thumbs up.

      is anyone claiming he's actually an innocent guy getting railroaded?

      I find it very unlikely that he's actually guilty of criminal copyright infringement. You would think that this law is designed for people who actually infringe copyright, but apparently not in the US. If he's guilty, then thousands of file hosting companies that are still in business would be guilty as well, and the executive boards of the biggest copyright infringers on earth Google and Youtube would all have to be in maximum security prison by now.

      The problem is, however, that by "guilty" you might mean "guilty according to the faulty undue process of corrupt US justice, acting on illegaly obtained evidence and on the basis of breaking the laws of other souvereign nations". Well, in that case, he might indeed be guilty, although he still will still be able to make a pretty good case. The US does in fact not even have jurisdiction over his company, they had to resort to mind-boggling legal tricks to still be able to reach him -- tricks that no souvereign nation should allow to be pulled, but apparently some of them like New Zealand and UK are nothing more than additional states of the US.

    3. Re:Justice is served! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The thing is, no matter how much of a douchbag you think he is the fact that he is fighting illegal actions by the US government against a citizen of another country is enough lend your support. Sometimes you have to support scoundrels if you want to support freedom.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Legal costs by precisenz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure, the legal costs to defend himself are totally what did it... Not the $4million failed political campaign he ran this year, or the failed music album, or the extravagant lifestyle he lives...

    1. Re:Legal costs by Dahamma · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Apparently he once spent over $1M to charter a yacht and throw nonstop parties during the Monaco Grand Prix. Hard to feel sorry for someone who pisses away $1M in 3 days on parties. As if the multiple convictions for fraud, espionage, and embezzlement weren't enough...

  3. Here's a plan by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Change you name to Kim Putin, and no one will mess with you.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  4. Re:It happened by binarylarry · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kind have

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
  5. Re:Wife has the money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    And Jesus, the cost to feed that man in prison could bankrupt NZ...

  6. Fucking Hypocrites! by danthemanvsqz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wouldn't be nice if the US Government went after the assets of the bankers on Wall Street who commit fraud and launder money in the same way they've gone after Kim.com.