Face of the Day

Kim Dotcom has lost his latest bid to challenge his extradition to the United States.

In a decision released on Wednesday, the Court of Appeal dismissed the internet mogul’s appeal and ordered him to pay costs after his lawyer filed an application to adjourn the hearing the night before it was due to begin, despite the hearing date having been set five months earlier.

The US wants to extradite Dotcom from New Zealand, where he is a resident, to stand trial on 12 charges of criminal copyright infringement, racketeering, and wire fraud.

In 2020, the Supreme Court determined Dotcom was eligible for extradition, but left the final decision to the Minister of Justice, Paul Goldsmith.

In determining that Dotcom should be sent back to the US, the minister considered, but rejected, Dotcom’s contention that such an order would breach his rights under the Bill of Rights Act because he would receive a disproportionately severe sentence in the US were he to be tried and convicted there.

Dotcom then sought a judicial review in the High Court of that decision, as well as the police commissioner’s decision to decline to charge him in New Zealand for offences equivalent to those he faced in the US.

Justice Christine Grice subsequently dismissed the judicial review. It’s that decision that Dotcom fought at the Court of Appeal.

RNZ