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Megaupload Founder Kim Schmitz: Assets Worth $750,000 Returned

2012 wasn’t exactly a good year for MegaUpload founder Kim Schmitz, as the FBI had the website closed, seized his assets (this happened in New Zealand, where he had settled) and arrested him back in January. However, it seems that Kim might have a chance of escaping a sentence, with the first step being recently made.
Kim Schmitz Mercedes G55 AMG 1 photo
Photo: Elliott Kember via Twitter
The New Zealand High Court ruled that he should receive about $750,000 (EUR567,000 at the current exchange rate) back, with this including a bank account that holds $301,000 (EUR227,560), his Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG that wears the “police” license plate (the one you see pictured above), a Toyota Vellfire, as well as certain expenses for his wife.

However, the rest of his assets, including 63 other bank accounts, multiple PayPal accounts and around 30 vehicles, remain in custody. Kim Dotcom will use most of the money to cover legal expenses in the US and New Zealand.

In September, Kim will take part in an extraordinary hearing in order to see if he will be sent to the US in order to be judged. However, his lawyers claim that he will not be extradited as the charges do not break the New Zealand law.

In addition to that, US judge O’Grady, who handles the case, told the FBI that MegaUpload hasn’t been served with criminal charges and this is required in order for a trial to be started. We have to tell you that while the US law allows for persons to be served outside the country’s jurisdiction, the same can’t be said about companies.

However, over the weekend, a story involving Kim and a questionable political donation has emerged. It seems that our man wanted to donate $50,000 (EUR37,800) to the current minister for small business and regulatory reform, John Banks, who reportedly asked Kim to split the money in two so that it would not exceed the maximum level for anonymus donations. This broke the New Zealand electoral law, which states that one can’t consider a donation over $1,000 (EUR756) as being anonymous if the donor’s identity is known.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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