Mega Eyes Stock Market as Secret Dotcom Extradition Hearing Gets Underway

[Guest BackFire]

Despite aggressive legal action in the United States, Kim Dotcom and
his associates still have big dreams for their Mega machine. Eyeing an
IPO within the next 18 months, the company is currently advertising for a
New Zealand-based finance guru to join the team as the operation’s
Chief Financial Officer. But alongside dreams of a stock exchange
listing runs an extradition battle, which today sees the start of a two
day secret session that not even Dotcom’s lawyers are permitted to
attend.

Are you aged between 30 and 40 with a background as a Chief Financial
Officer in a global business turning over between $5 and $50m? Looking
for something new and exciting?

If so, you might want to contact Kim Dotcom, as he could have just the career development you’ve been looking for.

Through an ad
listed in New Zealand’s TradeMe, Mega are looking to boost their
financial team with a new CFO. The company has its collective eye on the
New Zealand or Australian stock markets and is looking for someone with
an extensive list of qualities that only the select will be able to
match.

“This startup technology vendor is operating globally, delivering
innovative data storage and revolutionary data encryption technology via
its unique global cloud storage platform,” the listing begins.

“Due to some aggressive growth plans, we require a full-time CFO
capable of taking the company from just after initial setup, through
rapid growth and to IPO within the next 18 months.”

The successful applicant will have to have 10 years as a Chartered
Accountant under his or her belt, plus proven experience in raising
capital and the IPO process in either New Zealand or Australia.

Another stipulation is NZ residency (or a valid NZ work permit), with
the former being at least theoretically useful in mitigating the
overzealousness of New Zealand’s GCSB agency.

But alongside the lofty aspirations of the new Mega runs complex and
broad legal action. That is currently centered on the question of
whether Kim Dotcom and his associates should be extradited to the United
States to face charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and
racketeering.

At this very moment a secret hearing
is underway in the High Court in Auckland. Justice Helen Winkelmann is
presiding over a discussion into police actions on the day of the
initial Megaupload raid
in January 2012. Critics say the police response was carried out
needlessly heavy-handedly in order to please the United States.

The items up for discussion, which relate to the search and seizure
of evidence, have been deemed so secret that not even Kim Dotcom’s
lawyers are allowed to attend the hearing. In July 2012 Justice
Winkelmann previously ruled that the search was carried out illegally so it is now being decided how to settle that matter with Dotcom.

Today’s High Court action is just the latest in a long line of
hearings that have run almost continuously since early 2012 and have
cost New Zealand tax-payers huge sums of money.

NZHerald estimate
that by the time the matter of extradition is decided the Ministry of
Justice’s bill could be as much as NZ $5 million. That amount could rise
further still if the Crown is forced to compensate Dotcom for the illegal spying debacle and subsequent illegal search.

But despite the numerous court hearings every month the case still has the potential to run and run.

Last week the U.S. Government chalked up its first notable success
in the extradition battle when the Court of Appeal ruled that Dotcom’s
legal team would have to accept a summary of evidence from the U.S.
rather than the broader disclosure they had asked for. Dotcom’s legal
team said they would appeal the decision at the Supreme Court.

The full extradition hearing is currently due to go ahead in August
but even if that fails there will be more legal action to come in New
Zealand. Dotcom’s team will definitely mount another appeal, meaning
that we still might be another two years plus away from a conclusion.