Kim Dotcom Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court on $40 Million Seizure

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from embattled internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, leaving intact an order that lets the federal government seize $40 million from accounts in Hong Kong and New Zealand.

A federal appeals court said Dotcom and his associates can't try to block the seizure because they are fugitives who are fighting extradition to face U.S. criminal charges.

The group's Supreme Court appeal said the lower court ruling puts foreign defendants in an untenable position, forcing them either to forfeit money needed to mount a defense or to relinquish their right to contest extradition.

The U.S. is seeking Dotcom's extradition from New Zealand over his now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.com, which is alleged to have been used for the biggest copyright infringement in U.S. history.

To collect the $40 million, the government still needs orders from courts in Hong Kong and New Zealand enforcing the forfeiture.

The case is Batato v. United States, 16-1206.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asseo, Justin Blum