Kim Dotcom
Also known as: Kim Schmitz
Charged, Arrested
Public record reviewed to August 20, 2026
Index entry last updated August 21, 2026
Alleged founder and controlling figure of Megaupload.
Every charge in this entry is an allegation. No conviction is recorded.
- Founder of Megaupload.
- Extradition to the US was contested for years in New Zealand courts.
Everything on this page comes from cited public sources.
This entry records 2 actions across 1 takedown, each traced to a cited source. At least one linked takedown was added in the extended pass and was not independently source verified. Where the record is silent, this page says so rather than filling the gap.
Legal summary
- Associated takedowns
- Megaupload seizure
- Recorded role
- Founder and controlling figure of Megaupload
- Group segment
- Core operator
- Charging authority
- United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Charging jurisdiction
- United States
- Case number
- Not published
- Latest recorded action
- Arrested, January 2012
- Nationality
- Germany
- Country of residence
- New Zealand
Legal history
Every step recorded in the public legal record for this person, in the order it happened.
These entries describe procedure only. Nothing here establishes guilt, and a charge remains an allegation until a court rules.
-
January 19, 2012
Charged by United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in VA, United States. One of seven defendants named in the indictment.
-
January 20, 2012
Arrested by New Zealand Police in Auckland, New Zealand. Arrested at his rented estate near Auckland; extradition litigation continued for years.