Kim Dotcom Asset Seizure Declared Null and Void

A procedural error in court documents may force New Zealand authorities to return millions of dollars in personal property to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom. The property, which includes luxury cars and cash, were seized under a type of court order that should not have been granted, a judge ruled last week. The order has since been declared null and void, though unless his attorneys can prove the authorities acted in bad faith, he is unlikely to actually get his property back.

Dotcom was arrested in January at his mansion outside Auckland at the request of the United States government. U.S. prosecutors filed papers to extradite the MegaUpload founder earlier this month. Dotcom faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of criminal copyright infringement and money-laundering on a massive scale.