It’s the end clap for Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, the former coders of Megaupload. After signing an agreement in 2022 to avoid being extradited to the United States, the two men were sentenced by New Zealand justice to around 3 years in prison.
Megaupload, the benchmark for illegal download sites, has been closed for 10 years now. And yet, the legal proceedings against its founders and main members are not yet over. At least for Kit Dotcom, the creator of the platform.
For Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, the two chief coders of Megaupload, their fate is now sealed. Indeed, the two men were convicted by the New Zealand justice system.
The two Megaupload coders will go to prison
The Auckland High Court handed down prison sentences of respectively 31 and 30 months. The two defendants will begin serving their sentences at the MT Eden Corrections Facility, a penal center located in the central suburbs of Auckland, the country’s capital.
Recall that Ortmann risked up to 10 years and six months in prison, while van der Kolk was liable to a 10-year sentence. But in June 2022, the two men chose to plead guilty, much to the chagrin of Kit Dotcom, by the way. This reversal of the situation has above all enabled them avoid extradition to the United States.
An agreement to avoid extradition to the USA
Several counts weighed against them on American soil, starting with multiple copyright, racketeering and money laundering violations. To avoid serving their sentences in an American prison, the two coders decided to sign an agreement with the New Zealand justice system.
The fact of pleading guilty, but also of cooperating with the authorities of the country (not forgetting the FBI) and of committing to reimburse 10 million New Zealand dollars allowed the two men to significantly reduce their sentences.
According to the summary of facts, Mathias Ortmann was a 25% shareholder of Megaupload Limited, which enabled him to earn approximately $19 million. as for Bram van der Kolk, he held 2.5% of the company, which enabled him to pocket $3 million. “The technical knowledge of the defendants was essential to the creation and growth of Megaupload. Mr. Dotcom was the final arbiter on matters of policy and direction, but lacked the practical expertise to implement his wishes,” indicates the statement of facts.
For now, the fate of Kit Dotcom is still uncertain. The founder of Megaupload has always refused to plead guilty. Only, his defense is likely to be complicated now, since his two former collaborators decided to testify against him. In fact, he could be extradited to the United States. This decision falls to Kiri Allan, New Zealand Minister of Justice.
Source: Torrent Freak