NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Dotcom offers deal as bills rocket

David Fisher
By David Fisher
Senior writer·NZ Herald·
10 Jul, 2012 05:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Kim Dotcom has offered the FBI a deal over extradition while revealing unpaid legal bills worth 'millions of dollars'. Photo / Richard Robinson

Kim Dotcom has offered the FBI a deal over extradition while revealing unpaid legal bills worth 'millions of dollars'. Photo / Richard Robinson

Kim Dotcom has offered the FBI a deal over extradition while revealing unpaid legal bills worth "millions of dollars".

The mounting pressure of the legal fight was revealed as it emerged the FBI was planning on extraditing Dotcom using information gained through the illegal search of his New Zealand home.

Yesterday, it was announced by the court that the extradition case on charges of criminal copyright violation stemming from the Megaupload filesharing website had been shifted from next month to next year.

The four accused - Dotcom, Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk - deny any wrongdoing.

The case against them has become mired in legal argument after search warrants used by New Zealand police in the January raid were ruled invalid, making the search and seizure illegal.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A hearing in the High Court over remedies for the unlawful search is yet to be heard while lawyers await the result of a Crown appeal over an earlier order from the District Court extradition judge David Harvey.

Mr Harvey had ordered the FBI to give Dotcom and the accused copies of the evidence which would be used to prove the charges they faced.

In a written court minute, Mr Harvey yesterday said Crown lawyers had indicated they would appeal to the Court of Appeal if the High Court upheld all or part of his order for the FBI to produce evidence. He said an ultimate appeal to the Supreme Court had not be ruled out by the Crown.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Harvey said he had been told by the Crown that FBI agents had analysed data taken from Dotcom's home during the unlawful search. The data, which came from 17 cloned hard drives, had been couriered overseas by FBI agents without police or Crown Law Office knowledge.

He said the analysis had happened before the search was ruled unlawful. He said he was told "relevant material" found by the FBI would be used to update the "record of case" document forming the heart of the US case for extradition.

Dotcom told the Herald the delays in the case were placing pressure on his ability to defend against the charges. "They are sitting on all my money. I have no money to pay my lawyers. Every move they make, they know I have to send my lawyers there. They make it so I have no chance in the long run to defend myself. Lawyers need money too."

The FBI used legal orders in New Zealand and around the world to freeze assets and cash belonging to Dotcom and the three co-accused, claiming it came from the proceeds of crime.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

PM's office part of shutdown on Dotcom tip off

01 Jul 05:30 PM
New Zealand

Dotcom raid: Police affidavit needed

03 Jul 11:30 PM
New Zealand|crime

Dotcom: Hollywood bosses pressured White House

04 Jul 01:17 AM
New Zealand|crime

Dotcom's 'hands tied behind back'

04 Jul 06:18 AM

Dotcom said his legal bills were huge with 22 lawyers working on the case in different countries.

"I have accumulated millions of dollars in legal bills and I haven't been able to pay a single cent. They just want to hang me out to dry and wait until there is no support left."

He said he would willingly go to the US if he and his co-defendants were given a guarantee of a fair trial, money to pay for a defence and funds to support themselves and their families.

"They will never agree to this and that is because they can't win this case and they know that already."

Dotcom is preparing to release the first song on an album recorded with Black Eyed Peas producer Printz Board and his production team.

The song, Mr President, aims to cash in on Dotcom's profile as a self-styled internet freedom fighter. The song targets US president Barack Obama over the raid and calls for action in this year's election. It features the line: "We must oppose/those who chose/to turn innovation into crime."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The video preview seen by the Herald included an image of Prime Minister John Key holding a sign saying "For Sale", standing in front of a New Zealand flag. Dotcom said the image was being removed because it confused viewers outside New Zealand who did not recognise Mr Key.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
EducationUpdated

First XV rugby shake-up: South Island boys' schools plot breakaway competition

20 May 12:24 AM
PoliticsUpdated

House haka: Politicians plan for lengthy debate over Te Pāti Māori punishment

20 May 12:13 AM
New ZealandUpdated

Release date set for Auckland's long-awaited property revaluations

19 May 11:56 PM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
First XV rugby shake-up: South Island boys' schools plot breakaway competition

First XV rugby shake-up: South Island boys' schools plot breakaway competition

20 May 12:24 AM

Co-ed schools like St Andrew's College and Rangiora High are excluded from the proposal.

House haka: Politicians plan for lengthy debate over Te Pāti Māori punishment

House haka: Politicians plan for lengthy debate over Te Pāti Māori punishment

20 May 12:13 AM
Release date set for Auckland's long-awaited property revaluations

Release date set for Auckland's long-awaited property revaluations

19 May 11:56 PM
Doctors 'stoked' with new HIV self-test vending machine

Doctors 'stoked' with new HIV self-test vending machine

19 May 11:32 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP