Seven of Megaupload’s employees and the company itself are accused of providing copyrighted material online without paying royalties. The company’s staff and Founder Kim Dotcom has been arrested and incarcerated.
Dotcom himself made over $41 million just last year. Claiming he had done nothing wrong, his attorney’s argued for his release on bail from a New Zealand jail however; prosecutors in the case consider him a significant flight risk due to his great wealth.
In the meantime, several other employees have had warrants issued by the United States in connection with the alleged copyright infringements . Estonia’s Andrus Nomm, and Germany’s Sven Echternach have been taken into custody however, a third man, Julius Bencko of Slovakia, is still sought in connection with the crimes.
Dotcom maintains that his site is perfectly legal and that he has done nothing wrong. He also claims that he was compliant with the FBI’s request that he shut down the site. Still, the court denies bail due to the millionaire’s reportedly “shady past” and his significant financial resources.