Kim Dotcom Denied Bail By New Zealand Judge

Judge David McNaughton has denied bail for Megaupload co-creator Kim Dotcom. According to The New Zealand Herald, the judge "had no doubt that Dotcom, 38, could flee New Zealand if he wanted to because he had access to forged travel documents and money."

An appeal against the decision is in motion while Dotcom awaits an extradition hearing which could land him in the US to "face charges of conspiring to commit racketeering, conspiring to commit money laundering, copyright infringement, and aiding and abetting copyright infringement," all stemming from his work with Megaupload. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shut down the popular file sharing site last Thursday (January 19). 

US federal prosecutors alleged that Megaupload hid the practice of paying users to upload illegal music and movies. The Washington Post reported, "The investigators said its executives used their ill-gotten gain for a lavish lifestyle."

The indictment further claims company executives made $175 million charging users advertisement and subscription fees. 

The uproar from the online community regarding this situation has led to action by the hacker network, Anonymous. According to Stuff, the organization "is attempting to replace the fire-sharing website Megaupload" by creating a new site called Anonyupload. The goal is to offer a new hosting/file sharing option (previously offered by Megaupload) for users. Currently, servers are being setup in Russia and the site will be launched on January 25.