OIO judges Dotcom ‘good character’ – despite hacking, insider trading, reckless driving

The Overseas Investment Office has released formerly suppressed documents about Kim Dotcom’s character.

The 2012 material was released to the Campaign Against  Foreign Control in Aotearoa today.

To pass the OIO test a person “will be of good character when their reputation is honourable and their moral qualities are commendable or conducive to value or merit," the report says.

“On balance, our view is that Mr Dotcom is of good character. However, our view is that the facts are also capable of supporting a conclusion that Mr Dotcom is not of good character.”

The report outlines criminal offences Mr Dotcom was involved with and refers to a two-year suspended sentence for computer hacking 17 years ago and more recent convictions for insider trading.

“However, despite some of these offences being serious, our view is they provide relatively little insight into Mr Dotcom’s character.”

The report notes Mr Dotcom’s approved $10 million investment under immigration rules for wealthy people.

The OIO relies on the passage of time since the convictions and that the nature of the crimes were “remote from the particular investments for which consent is sought (purchase of properties).”

When it comes to the FBI’s interest in Mr Dotcom, the OIO report says “the claim of possible FBI interest is so vague that we cannot rely on it ...”

The report canvasses Mr Dotcom’s charitable gifts of $50,000 to the Christchurch relief fund after the earthquakes and $50,000 to a trust for a paralysed Tongan school boy rugby player.

“Mr Dotcom is a colourful character. In addition to a high-profile, chequered criminal history, Mr Dotcom has participated in a number of public events intended to draw attention to himself,” the report says.

These included driving a Mercedes around a golf course in Thailand, street racing in Belgium in 2003, the Gumball Rally during which he deliberately collided with a vehicle driven by the Moroccan chief of police, and numerous videos showing him driving faster than 250km in a “reckless manner.”

Good character is not defined within the Overseas Investment Act.

The report concludes that all of the factors discussed – passage of time since offences and the unrelated nature of his New Zealand investments – mean he passed the good character test.