Megaboss refused bail again

The New Zealand courts have refused MegaUpload founder Kim (Dotcom) Schmitz bail for the second time. The Mega chief had pleaded that he did not pose any risk of jumping bail as his passport had been surrendered and his bank account frozen saying "I will not run away. I want to fight these allegations on a level playing field. I have three little children. My wife is pregnant with twins. I just want to be with them". However the prosecution again successfully persuaded the judge that the Mega chief was indeed a flight risk, speculating that he may have secret funds he could tap into, and noting his past record, and allegations he fled to Thailand to avoid insider trading charges in Germany. Schmitz will now stay in jail until at least 22 February.

Mega arrests in New Zealand

Reuters report that Kim Dotcom (Kim Schmitz, a 37 year old German national), the Megaupload boss, and three other senior members of his team have been arrested by police in New Zealand and that the US Government has shut down the content sharing website. It can hardly have escaped anyone’s notice that the actions come against the background of heated debate over the proposed SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation in the USA but Reuters report that a US Justice Department official said the timing of the arrests was not related to the battle inside and outside Congress. Alongside these arrests, NZ police seized several million dollars worth of assets and NZ$10 million from financial institutions. The Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand said they would work with US Authorities to enable extradition proceedings to proceed. Those arrested have been remanded in custody after a court hearing in Auckland. In response hackers took down the US Justice Department's websites and the websites run by Universal Music and the websites run by music and film trade organisations the RIAA and the MPA