Dotcom stays free

UPDATE: Kim Dotcom will remain free on bail. 

In the High Court at Auckland this afternoon, Justice Tim Brewer upheld the February 22 North Shore District Court decision to grant Kim Dotcom bail, dismissing a Crown appeal on behalf of the US government.

Justice Brewer said for Mr Dotcom to be incarcerated for the next six months the risk of fight had to be real.

Justice Brewer conceded he could not be certain Mr Dotcom would not flee country, but he was not required to be certain to grant bail.

He agreed with the District Court judge that Mr Dotcom did not represent a risk to the safety of the public. Mr Dotcom’s alleged crimes concerned intellectual property violation, not violence.

“Of course there is a possibility that somewhere there is a bank account with millions of dollars in it,” Justice Brewer said.

Assets to the value of $US40 million had been seized so far, Justice Brewer said: “Mr Dotcom is a very wealthy man who has had all his identified assets seized or frozen.”

The Crown had argued that one of Mr Dotcom's network of 'mega' sites, Megapay, had accounts in the Phillipines that were not subject to the restraint on assets.

US authorities had not yet been able to analyse evidence seized from Mr Dotcom and it was unreasonable to think the authorities would have been able to identify any new funds in the short time since his dramatic arrest, she said.

"Any emergency fund he has is likely to be well disguised and unlikely to be in New Zealand," Crown prosecutor Anne Toohey said.

UPDATE Wed: After another night of freedom, Kim Dotcom faces an anxious wait today until Justice Tim Brewer rules on the Crown's bid to appeal bail.

A decision due at 4.30pm today in the Auckland High Court.

Mr Dotcom's lawyer, Paul Davison QC, said his client could face 25 weeks in jail ahead of an extradition hearing if bail was revoked.

UPDATE Tues 4pm: In the Auckland High Court, Justice Tim Brewer reserved his decision on Kim Dotcom's fate till 4:30pm tomorrow afternoon.

Mr Dotcom's high profile lawyer Paul Davison QC responded to the Crown's arguments presented earlier in the day.

Mr Davison said that Mr Dotcom should not have to prove he had money stashed away - one of the main reasons for assessing him as a flight-risk.

Instead, it was up to the Crown to prove Mr Dotcom had hidden money.

HOME SWEET HOMES: The $4.2 million house Kim Dotcom bougth in December (left) and the adjoining $30 million mansion he rents from Chrisco founders Richard and Ruth Bradley (right). Click to zoom.

Earlier today, lawyers for the Crown told the court it believed Mr Dotcom had  money squirreled away and access to assets beyond those under restraint (worth about $20 million). It was also estimated he earned as much as $US68.1 million in the years between 2007-2010 - well beyond what had currently been identified in his multiple frozen bank accounts.

The Crown feared Mr Dotcom would flee to Germany, which has no extradiction treaty with the US.

However, Mr Davison said there was no missing money. The discrepancy could be explained by Mr Dotcom's every day expense burden, which included maintaining a household with 40 staff and renting the top floor of the Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong.

Mr Davison also said the Crown's fear Mr Dotcom would flee the country made no sense, because an escape would require him to turn his back on his New Zealand assets and put his family in an uncomfortable position.

Mr Dotcom had, so far, met the strict conditions of his bail, which included no internet access at his rented Coatesville mansion, Mr Davison said.

Technicians had disabled all devices capable of providing internet access and signs were up around the property banning 3G-capable devices on the property. Similar provisions had been made at Mr Dotcom's adjoining property.

These steps were above and beyond what was required of bail conditions, Mr Davison said.

UPDATE Tues: 2pm: The US government believes Mr Dotcom has more money stashed away.

Crown Law lawyer Anne Toohey, on behalf of the US government, has told the court there was a risk Mr Dotcom had money somewhere else that had not come to light at this point.

This is part of the US government's argument to have Mr Dotcom, released on bail last week, returned to jail. (Mr Dotcom is present in High Court this afternoon, wearning a baggy polar fleece and Crocs).

Ms Toohey told the court Mr Dotcom's financial affairs could not be easily quantified due to the international scale and complexity of his business and investments.

It was known that one of his network of 'mega' sites, Megapay, had accounts in the Phillipines that were not subject to the restraint on assets.

US authorities had not yet been able to analyse evidence seized from Mr Dotcom and it was unreasonable to think the authorities would have been able to identify any new funds in the short time since his dramatic arrest, she said.

"Any emergency fund he has is likely to be well disguised and unlikely to be in New Zealand," Ms Toohey said.

US authorities had estimated Mr Dotcom's income, by way of tracking email traffic related to payments received, as  ranging from $53.9 million to $68.1 million in the years between 2007 and 2010.

A more up-to-date income estimate was not available.

The court will hear from Mr Dotcom's lawyer, Paul Davison, QC, this afternoon.

UPDATE Tues 12.30pm: Kim Dotcom is in Auckland High Court this afternoon as the US tries to get him put back in jail.

Crown Law, on behalf of the US government, is appealing bail granted to the alleged internet pirate in the North Shore District Court on Wednesday last week. 

The US government's argument is based on the fact there has not been a material change in Mr Dotcom's circumstances since his arrest.

Lawyer for the Crown, Anne Toohey, has told the court the US government believes Mr Dotcom has the money to arrange forged travel documents or travel outside New Zealand, covertly should he choose to do so.

Mr Dotcom had a history of changing his name and had, prior to his arrest, been operating at least one other bank account under a different name.

There was evidence his finances were effectively the same and US authorities had identified assets, including a Rolls Royce Phantom worth half-a-million dollars, that had not been restrained. It was also alleged he had art and furniture - some in New Zealand and some in a Hyatt apartment he maintained permanently in Hong Kong.

Ms Toohey told the court it was estimated that assets of Mr Dotcom's worth about $20 million dollars had been restrained.

There was also the suggestion Mr Dotcom could exploit criminal connections, Crown Law argued.

Update Tues 8am: Kim Dotcom is due in Auckland High Court this morning as the US government tries to put him back in jail.

The internet tycoon was granted bail to his rented mansion in Coatesville, north of Auckland on Wednesday as he awaits an extradition hearing.

But the Crown, on behalf of the US government, is appealing the decision of the North Shore District Court to release him.

The US government wants the German multimillionaire back in jail so he can not flee the country.

Mr Dotcom was arrested, at the request of the US, on charges of criminal copyright violation last month.

He spent a month in jail after the January 20 raid on his Megaupload business.

Mr Dotcom was freed on February 22 to live at his Coatesville mansion on the condition he does not use the internet.

Nor is he allowed access to a helicopter, or otherwise travel more than 80km from his residence.

ROOM WITH A VIEW: The $30 million Coatesville mansion rented by Kim Dotcom, photographed on February 8. (Photographer: Ben Gracewood. Pilot: Vaughn Davis. Click image to enlarge)