Kim Dotcom Dodges Jail Before Extradition Bid

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Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has avoided being sent back to jail in New Zealand, ahead of an attempt to extradite him to the United States.

Auckland district court Judge Nevin Dawson ruled there was no evidence Dotcom had secret assets or posed a flight risk.

Lawyers for the US government argued Dotcom had been in contact with a co-defendant, and tried to sell a £250,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom car that may have been part of a restraining order.

The founder of the file-sharing web service, who now claims he is broke, also avoided being forced to wear an electronic tag ahead of the extradition hearing set for June.

However, the judge altered Dotcom's bail conditions by ruling he can no longer travel by private helicopter or sea-going vessel and must report to police twice a week.

Outside court Dotcom said: "I think this is another case of harassment and bullying by the United States government in concert with the New Zealand government.

"I think this whole application was only made because my lawyers decided to resign because of a lack of funds on my part because Hollywood has seized the new family assets that have been made after the raid."

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Gallery: Tycoon Kim Dotcom's Turbulent Past

Born Kim Schmitz in Kiel, Germany, to a Finnish mother on January 21, 1974

In 1994, Kim was arrested for trafficking stolen phone calling card numbers and was held in custody for a month

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In 2000, Schmitz sold an 80% stake in Data Protect to German conglomerate TÜV Rheinland, keeping the remainder through his holding company, Kimvestor

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Kim invested in struggling LetsBuyIt.com in 2001. After announcing he would make a further investment of €50m (£41.8m), its stocks jumped and he sold his shares at a profit

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As a result, he was found guilty of insider trading and received a suspended prison sentence and was fined in 2002

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Dotcom, a German national who tried to launch a political party this year, was arrested in early 2012 at his luxury rented mansion and has continually fought extradition to the US over internet piracy allegations.

He has long claimed that US authorities illegally targeted him on behalf of Hollywood studios, stemming from accusations users of his site shared movies and music.

Last June, Dotcom offered a £3m reward to any whistleblower who could prove "wrongdoing and corruption" in the piracy case against him.

"We are asking for information that proves unlawful or corrupt conduct by the US government, the New Zealand government, spy agencies, law enforcement and Hollywood," Dotcom said at the time.

Authorities shut down Megaupload in 2012 but he has since launched another service, and has argued he is not responsible for file-sharing between users of his site.

At the time of his arrest, authorities froze Dotcom's worldwide assets, which were worth over £25m, and jailed him for a month.

But since then, Dotcom says he has earned another £20m from new ventures, including the file-sharing site Mega and music venture Baboom.

Shortly after leaving court in Auckland on Monday, Dotcom tweeted his feelings and warned officials who were trying to jail him.

He said: "The next big court event is in Hong Kong. If we win my legal team will seek $2bn in damages for the unlawful destruction of #Megaupload."

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