Kim Dotcom refused bail

By Sim Ahmed | Wednesday, January 25 2012

Three co-accused in Megaupload case face bail hearing today

Kim Dotcom has been remanded in custody until February 22, the judge denying him his application for bail.

It is expected that an extradition hearing will be held at that time.

Judge David McNaughton had reserved his decision since Monday afternoon, when Dotcom's bail hearing was held.

At the hearing, Crown prosecutor Anne Toohey claimed Dotcom posed a "significant" flight risk because of the sums of money available to him.

This was disputed by Dotcom's lawyer, who told the court his client's funds had all been seized, and that the media and US government had been 'misrepresenting' his client's business.

As of 11:20am, the judge is hearing from the defense council for Dotcom's co-accused.

Finn Batato, chief marketing officer at Megaupload, Mathias Ortmann, chief technical officer, and Bram van der Kolk, programmer, all face similar charges of copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering.

All four men were arrested on Friday by police who executed provisional arrest warrants requested by the United States Department of Justice.

In the photo above Dotcom's defense team regroup after the decision to deny bail.