Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom says he’s broke

Remember Megaupload? The online Hong Kong–based company established in 2005 that ran online services related to file storage and viewing, including megaupload.com. The domain was eventually seized with its founder being arrested in New Zealand in 2012. Megaupload was valued at $164m but the Kim Dotcom says he has had to spend about $10m in legal costs.

Mr Dotcom had employed a local law firm to fight the US’s attempt to extradite him, but his defence team stepped down a fortnight ago without explaining why.

Mr Dotcom said he would now represent himself at a bail hearing on Thursday.
He denies charges of racketeering, conspiring to commit copyright infringement and money laundering.

He told a conference in London, via a video link, that his lawyers had resigned because he had run out of money.
“The [US authorities] have certainly managed to drain my resources and dehydrate me, and without lawyers I am defenceless,” he said.
“They used that opportunity to try and get my bail revoked and that’s what I’m facing.”
The law firm Simpson Grierson, which had represented Mr Dotcom, could not be reached for comment.

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