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Two New Zealand men have reached a deal with the U.S. and New Zealand to avoid extradition to America, where they were facing charges for racketeering and other crimes over their involvement in the file-sharing website Megaupload, in exchange for facing charges in New Zealand, the accused announced Tuesday.
Megaupload officers Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk said in a statement that New Zealand is their home, and they wish to stay there. They also said the extradition battle took a heavy toll on their lives and that they would like to move on.
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Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, second left, stands with Bram Van der Kolk, left, Mathias Ortmann and Finn Batato, right, outside the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug.9, 2012. Ortmann and van der Kolk, charged by U.S. prosecutors with racketee (AP Newsroom)
“We have reached an agreement with the New Zealand Government and the United States of America under which we have agreed to be charged in New Zealand for offenses similar to those we face in the United States,” they said. “Once those charges are heard by the New Zealand courts, the United States will withdraw its extradition proceedings against us.”
The deal means Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is the only one to still face the threat of extradition to the U.S. for alleged crimes associated with the Megaupload operation. Dotcom also resides in New Zealand.
The three men have fought against U.S. extradition for the past decade after U.S. officials shut down the file-sharing website in 2012.
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom gestures during an interview at his home in Auckland New Zealand, Dec. 21, 2015. Two men charged by U.S. prosecutors with racketeering for their involvement in the once wildly popular file-sharing website Megaupload said (AP Newsroom)
According to U.S. authorities, Megaupload was paid at least $175 million for its services, primarily from people who used it to illegally download songs, television shows and movies.
New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of extradition for all three men last year. However, Justice Minister Kris Faafoi had the final say, and the accused could appeal a decision by the court or Faafoi.
Dotcom and the other two men were close friends before he started a new company Mega, following the shutdown of Megaupload. In a tweet, he congratulated his former friends on their deal and for avoiding the “terrible” U.S. justice system.
The Megaupload founder said that he will continue fighting to avoid the treatment the other two men have endured.
“I’m now the last man standing in this fight and I will continue to fight because unlike my co-defendants I won’t accept the injustice we have been subjected to,” he wrote in a tweet. “If I have to go to jail for what Megaupload users did on our site then many Big Tech CEOs are in the same boat with me.”
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German tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom (C) arrives surrounded by supporters and security for a court hearing in Auckland, New Zealand, September 24, 2015. A New Zealand court hearing will determine whether Dotcom will face charges of copyright infringem (Reuters)
Last year, the U.S. dropped its extradition efforts against Finn Batato, another Megaupload officer who was arrested in New Zealand.
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And in 2015, Megaupload computer programmer Andrus Nomm pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit felony copyright infringement. He was sentenced to one year and one day in U.S. federal prison for his role in the operation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
