Acting on allegations from the United States government and its Hollywood partners, New Zealand\u2019s elite counter-terrorist force raided the mansion of Kim Dotcom, who was detained along with his wife and children.<\/p>\n
Megaupload\u2019s founder has always maintained that his arrest was unlawful under New Zealand law, and he is determined to hold the authorities accountable.<\/p>\n
In addition to\u00a0getting married<\/a>\u00a0and celebrating his birthday this weekend, the German born entrepreneur\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that he is seeking damages from the New Zealand Government.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, 6 years ago, the NZ Govt enabled the unlawful destruction of Megaupload and seizure of my global assets,\u201d Dotcom wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n \u201cI was arrested for the alleged online piracy of my users. Not even a crime in NZ. My lawyers have served a multi billion dollar damages claim against the Govt today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Dotcom\u2019s lawyer Ira Rothken informs TorrentFreak that a damages claim was filed at the New Zealand High Court last December.<\/p>\n \u201cWe confirm that our legal team filed a Statement of Claim in the New Zealand High Court for monetary damages on December 22, 2017 on behalf of Kim Dotcom against the United States and NZ governmental entities alleging that defendants pursued with malice and material non disclosure an erroneous arrest warrant,\u201d Rothken says.<\/p>\n In the claim, Dotcom\u2019s legal team argues that the arrest warrant was invalid. They say that there were no reasonable grounds on which the District Court could conclude that Dotcom\u2019s alleged crimes were an extraditable offense.<\/p>\n The consequences, however, were rather severe. Dotcom lost his freedom and also his company, which was worth billions and\u00a0preparing for an IPO<\/a>, according to the legal paperwork.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time the Restraint Orders were granted, second plaintiff was preparing to list on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong at a conservative valuation of not less than US$2.6 billion,\u201d the claim reads.<\/p>\n This valuation is based on a valuation of $40 for each of the 66 million users Megaupload had, which generated $45 million in profits per year. If Megaupload had not have been raided, today\u2019s value could be as high as $10 billion.<\/p>\n The exact scale of the damages isn\u2019t specified and will have to be determined at a later stage, before trial.<\/p>\n The claim doesn\u2019t come as a surprise to the New Zealand Government, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a\u00a0brief response<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has obviously been an ongoing matter, so no it doesn\u2019t surprise me,\u201d she commented.<\/p>\n A copy of the full claim is available\u00a0here (pdf)<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/megaipo.png\")
<\/center>Dotcom has a 68 percent stake in the Megaupload companies and seeks damages that will compensate for lost profits. In addition, he requests compensation for legal costs, lost business opportunities, loss of reputation, and other losses.<\/p>\n![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"