Dotcom dodges custody but faces uphill struggle

He may be broke but at-bay internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has won a legal battle to stay out of jail on bail.

A New Zealand court ruled that the German-born founder of now-outlawed megaupload.com was not a flight risk, but it tightened bail conditions to prevent him hiring a private boat or plane. It also rejected US claims he had a secret cash pile to use to jump bail.

The American authorities closed megaupload in 2012 accusing Dotcom of pirating hundreds of millions of euros worth of copyrighted material. Since then he has been fighting extradition there, for which he has a hearing in June.

New Zealand police have confiscated a number of Dotcom’s assets including a number of foreign bank accounts.

Dotcom maintains his innocence but has lost his original defence team, seen a political party he founded crash and burn in recent elections, and a new website launch has been endlessly delayed.