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A New Zealand court has granted bail to Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing site Megaupload. Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz, was arrested last month on many charges stemming from the operation of Megaupload, which was shut down by legal authorities (including the FBI) for encouraging piracy.
According to New Zealand's 3News, a district court judge Nevin Dawson said Dotcom wasn't a flight risk and had "every reason to stay" in the country. Prosecutors pointed out that Dotcom was a wealthy man with the resources to escape the country. However, authorities froze Dotcom's assets and seized his multiple passports when he was arrested, and the judge said the assumption was off base.
"The disposition that he is wealthy and must have more assets is not evidence," Judge Dawson said. "It would seem that he has every reason to stay (in New Zealand) to be with his family and to fight to keep his significant assets."
[More from Mashable: Megaupload Data Could Be Erased This Week]
Dotcom is reported to be banned from using the Internet while on bail. Also on his forbidden list: helicopters. A date for his extradition hearing is expected to be set later today.
Another judge had previously denied Dotcom bail after New Zealand police arrested Dotcom with three others at his extravagant residence in January. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted seven people and two companies involved with the site for copyright infringement. A new indictment, filed Friday, adds another eight counts of fraud and violation of copyrights.
BONUS: The Strange and Epic Lifestyle of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom
1. MegaRacer Domination Ends
Until recently, Kim Dotcom was the top Modern Warfare 3 player in the world. He even apparently posted a video to prove it. We imagine it's tough to maintain such a coveted position while being held in jail for multiple copyright violations.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
