Kim Dotcom has been released from prison after a New Zealand judge surprisingly granted him bail this week.
Dotcom is the founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload, which was shut down in January as Dotcom was arrested after he allegedly facilitated millions of illegal downloads through his company.
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According to a report by the Associated Press, Kim earned $42 million last year alone from what is being considered one of the world’s biggest file-sharing sites.
The profits of Megaupload cost film makers and musicians upwards of $500,000 in lost copyrighted revenue.
Weirdly enough, it was a site that was heavily endorsed by famous faces like Kim Kardashian and musicians like Alicia Keys, whose husband, Swizz Beatz was named CEO.
According to Boston.com, the 38-year-old Dotcom had been in custody since an anti-terrorist police squad raided his home last month following an FBI investigation and was released Wednesday after the judge found that he had lacked means to flee since his funds had been seized—When he was arrested, police in New Zealand seized millions of dollars worth of guns, artwork, cash and cars from him.
The United States is currently seeking extradition of him and his colleagues on racketeering charges, which he is fighting.
The AP reported that before Megaupload was taken down, the company posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were “grotesquely overblown” and “The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch.”
