Kim Dotcom Lashes Out Against “Corrupt” US Government. The US judge handling the Megaupload case noted today that it may never be tried due to a procedural error, a comment that has sparked the anger of Megaupload's founder. Kim Dotcom is furious with the US Government for destroying his businesses and rendering hundreds of people unemployed. According to Dotcom the case is the result of "corruption on the highest political level, serving the interests of the copyright extremists in Hollywood. " Earlier today the news broke that a Megaupload trial may never happen because the US Government failed to serve the now defunct file-hosting company. While some defendants might respond with relief upon hearing such news, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is only becoming more furious at the people who destroyed his businesses.
“The US government has terminated Megaupload, Megavideo and 10 other subsidiaries, including a company called N1 Limited that was developing a clothing line,” Dotcom told TorrentFreak. “They destroyed 220 jobs. And why?
National : Judge nullifies order used to seize Dotcom assets. February12National1. Careful planning behind Dotcom swoop The high-profile operation centred on Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom in Auckland was the culmination of several months of careful planning by staff in Auckland and Wellington. Kim Dotcom and three others were arrested last month as part of a global operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) targeting alleged large scale criminal copyright infringement and money laundering around the world. The arrests, carried out by the Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ) and New Zealand Police, followed a mutual legal assistance request from the US Department of Justice to arrest individuals for the purpose of extradition. “The mutual assistance procedure is used internationally by law enforcement agencies to facilitate investigations into transnational crime,” says Malcolm Burgess, Assistant Commissioner Investigations / International.
“Our police already have a good reputation for being competent and capable. NZ Court Voids First Kim DotCom Asset Seizing Order. The Crown describes the error as a "procedural" one. There were two provisions of law authorizing seizure, and it improperly chose the one that provided no notice to Kim DotCom and the other property owners. Radio New Zealand reports: Justice Potter says the Police Commissioner applied for a foreign restraining order in January, when his office should have applied for an interim restraining order. I think the law they are talking about is The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act of 2009 (CPRA). The order was issued under the authority of New Zealand Attorney General Chris Finlayson, who also serves as the minister in charge of the Crown Law Office. The order authorized police and the Official Assignee to seize and retain the property.
This error wasn't a mere technicality and it sure doesn't seem to be an oversight. Nor does it seem the FBI was entirely sidelined: Interesting sidenote: Kim Dotcom's legal team in the seizure cases is headed up by a big firm, Simpson Grierson. Kim Dotcom seizures "null and void" High performance access to file storage In an astonishing blunder, New Zealand’s Crown Law Office and its police commissioner have admitted to a ‘procedural error’ when they seized cash, cars and other property from Megaupload chief Kim Dotcom. According to the New Zealand Herald, Justice Judith Potter of the High Court has declared the first restraining order under which the seizures were made to be “null and void” and having “no legal effect”.
The slip-up happened when the police applied for the seizure of Megaupload assets during January, and was discovered within the week, with police making a revised application on January 30. However, the approach taken by NZ Police and the Crown Law Office had denied Dotcom a chance to mount a defense, the judge said. Radio New Zealand reports that during the next week, Justice Potter will hold another hearing to decide whether or not the assets should be returned. Megaupload Seizure Order “Null and Void” Says High Court.
In another astonishing development in the Megaupload saga, a judge in New Zealand's High Court has declared the order used to seize Kim Dotcom's assets as "null and void". The blunder, which occurred because the police applied for the wrong type of court order, means that the Megaupload founder could have his property returned. Just when it seemed that the handling of the Megaupload case couldn’t get any more controversial, a development from New Zealand has taken things to the next level. Following the raids on Kim Dotcom’s mansion in January, police seized millions of dollars worth of property belonging to the Megaupload founder. But thanks to a police blunder, he could now see all of those assets returned.
On Friday, Justice Judith Potter in the High Court declared the order used to seize Dotcom’s property “null and void” after it was discovered that the police had acted under a court order that should have never been granted.