Dotcom in Custody as New Zealand Awaits U.S. Extradition Request
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Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload.com, has been detained in New Zealand on charges of copyright infringement conspiracy under a U.S. request for provisional arrest ahead of a formal extradition request.
The U.S. had sought the arrest of Dotcom, who was held after a Jan. 20 helicopter raid on his leased Auckland mansion, before an extradition request, Elizabeth Collins, a spokeswoman at New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice, said in an e-mail today. Requests for provisional arrests are made when there’s concern a suspect will flee, according to New Zealand’s extradition law.