Dotcom Claims Victory Even as Court Backs Extradition to U.S.
- New Zealand High Court rules in Dotcom’s favor on copyright
- Court finds grounds for extradition in conspiracy to defraud
Kim Dotcom.
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Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom claimed a “major victory” in his long-running battle to avoid extradition to the U.S. even as another New Zealand court ruled he is eligible for removal from the South Pacific nation.
The High Court said Monday that Dotcom and his co-accused, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato, are “eligible for surrender to the United States,” upholding a District Court ruling from December 2015. But the court found in favor of the appellants on the issue of copyright infringement, saying they had not committed an offense under New Zealand law. Rather, they were eligible for extradition on the grounds of conspiracy to defraud.