Over salad and club sandwiches at his $24m rented mansion in New Zealand, the internet’s most wanted man says his crazy days are behind him
Dotcom is fighting extradition to the US where, along with six associates, he is wanted for making more than $175m in allegedly illegal profits from what the FBI describes as a huge online piracy operation. Indicted for copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering, he faces up to 50 years in jail
At its peak, Megaupload accounted for 4 per cent of all internet traffic, with 50m users a day. Much of it, according to prosecutors, was illegally downloaded movies, music and games. Dotcom’s lawyers insist a service provider cannot be prosecuted for third-party activities.
