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22 September 2014Copyright

Kim Dotcom fails in election bid

Internet entrepreneur and target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kim Dotcom has failed in his New Zealand election bid.

Dotcom, the creator of file sharing website Megaupload, had allied with the Maori-centred Mana Party ahead of last week’s election.

But the party only won around 1% of the vote and failed to gain any seats after Mana’s leader Hone Harawira could not hold onto his.

The ruling National Party won the election by a landslide to take power for a third consecutive term.

After defeat, Dotcom said he carried the loss on his shoulders and apologised to Harawira and the party, adding that brand Kim Dotcom had been “poisoned”, according to news website  ZDNet.

Dotcom is currently on the run from US authorities who want him to face racketeering and copyright infringement charges related to the now defunct file-sharing website.

It is claimed the website cost the entertainment industry half a billion dollars before it was shut down in 2012.

German born Dotcom, real name Kim Schmitz, has lived in New Zealand since 2010.

His failure in the election came despite hosting an event last week, dubbed "The Moment of Truth", which detailed revelations about New Zealand's alleged role in the Five Eyes cyber-spying network with allies the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

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20 February 2017   Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing website Megaupload, can be legally extradited to the US, according to New Zealand’s High Court.