The founder of MegaUpload and three of their executives are tried in New Zealand

The main brain of MegaUpload, Kim Schmitz, and three managers downloads Portal intervened by the American FBI for alleged hacking this Sunday sat on the bench for New Zealand, after three days in custody court.

Schmitz, better known as Kim Dotcom, and also Germans Finn Batato, of 38 years and Chief technician of the portal, and Mathias Ortman, 40 years and co-founder of MegaUpload, and the Dutchman Bram van de Kolk, of 29 years, they were moved from detention until the Court Centre.

View, according to judicial sources can last throughout the day, started by 11: 00 hour local (22: 00 GMT Sunday) in a room to overflowing public and especially journalists. The first to appear in the room was Schmitz, face serious and dressed in black, and followed by the other three defendants.

At the start of the hearing, the judge in charge of the case, David McNaughton, announced strict rules for the press to avoid, he said, another “performance” similar to the last Friday, which authorized the entry in the room of a single television camera.

The legal representatives of the four detainees requested bail for their customers that last Friday the Court ordered entry into custody and were a first request for parole.

U.S. seeks his extradition

All were arrested the same day in an operation carried out by the New Zealand police and assisted by FBI agents, in response to a request from US authorities, who have requested the extradition of the four defendants.

To New Zealand Justice extradite Schmitz and the other three detainees, these face charges in United States by crime organized, money-laundering and violation of the law on intellectual property rights, offences that, if they are found guilty, could be sentenced to a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.

United States authorities closed last Thursday the portal downloads MegaUpload to be considered to be part of “a criminal organization responsible for a large network of hacking world” that has caused more than 500 million dollars in losses to transgress companies copyright.

View coincided with an appeal from opposition to the New Zealand Government to investigate and explain the reason for which awarded, in 2010, the Charter of a Dotcom after investing eight billion dollars in Treasury bonds, despite the fact that it already had a criminal record in Germany residence.

“The reputation of New Zealand is in sight,” said opposition leader Winston Peters to Radio New Zealand.

Investment, speculation and huge profits

In 2001, being still Schmitz, it spent $375,000 in the purchase of shares of the portal for sales on the internet “LetsBuyIt” when he was on the verge of bankruptcy. And after announcing an investment of $ 50 million, which did not, the price of the shares rose as the foam, so that, to sell them, he gobbled by these $ 1.5 million (€1.16 billion).

By fraudulent business, he was arrested in Thailand, deported to Germany and sentenced to 20 months in jail, in addition to receiving a fine of 100,000 euros (129,000 dollars).

During the past weekend, the New Zealand Police seized luxury cars, works of art, weapons, computers and documents in the register of the mansion of Schmitz.

Some seventy troops of various security forces and bodies of the State recorded the country house of the founder of MegaUpload for more than 24 hours and the other three Directors of the company. In the registry were confiscated goods valued at some six billion dollars (€4.5 million), among them 15 Mercedes Benz, a 1959 Cadillac and a Rolls-Royce have indicated New Zealand police.

In addition, the Department of the Treasury froze $ 11 million (EUR 8.5 million) deposited in various accounts opened in banks of the oceanic country.

Schmitz is considered by the local press in this country of which he is resident from a year ago, one of the richest people in New Zealand and described as passionate about the cars, women and of the mansions.