Dotcom to revive Megaupload:

Asia

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has announced plans to relaunch his Megaupload empire in 2017, exactly five years after US authorities shut it down over allegations of massive copyright piracy.

The file-sharing service was once the 13th most visited site on the internet, a New Zealand court heard last year, with 50 million daily users accounting for four percent of global web traffic.

But it all came crashing down in January 2012, when the FBI shut down Megaupload’s servers and New Zealand police raided Dotcom’s Auckland mansion.

The legal fallout from the raid is ongoing, with Dotcom fighting extradition to the United States on charges that could see him and three other Megaupload founders jailed for up to 20 years.

The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners US$500 million-plus by offering pirated content.

Dotcom denies any wrongdoing and will next month appeal an Auckland court’s December 2015 ruling allowing his extradition.

The German national said on Twitter that he was determined not to let the legal case stop him reviving Megaupload and restoring his fortune.

“Megaupload comes back on Jan 20, 2017, the 5th anniversary of the raid. It will be better than the original and it will feel like home,” Dotcom tweeted on Sunday. (AFP)