The story of Megaupload.com’s demise just keeps getting more and more interesting.
Turns out Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom was arrested on January 20 after New Zealand police found him hiding in a safe room with a loaded shotgun. This after dozens of police officers and helicopters poured into his mansion seeking to arrest him for copyright theft, according to Reuters.
The police were forced to cut their way through electronic locks to get to the safe room, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves,” an official with New Zealand’s Organized and Financial Crime Agency said, “Mr. Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-locking mechanisms.”
Dotcom has been charged with operating a criminal enterprise that distributes intellectual property, while police are also said to have seized two firearms and several cars from his property.
Meanwhile, contrary to a listing on the site before it was shut down for violating piracy laws, Swizz Beatz is not the company’s CEO. “To my knowledge, Swizz Beatz was never involved in any meaningful way,” said company lawyer Ira Rothken. “He was negotiating to become the CEO, but it was never official.”
In a criminal lawsuit filed against Megaupload’s principal employees, including the company’s founders, Beatz — who was born Kaseem Dean — is not named. He is married to Alicia Keys.
Prosecutors claim that Megaupload has cost copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue. The FBI has called the action “amongst the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States.”
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