Bram van der Kolk and Mathias Ortmann have done a deal which will see them face charges in New Zealand in return for the United States dropping the extradition case against them.
Megaupload executives Mathias Ortmann, left, and Bram van der Kolk at a court hearing in Auckland in 2015. Photo: AFP/ Michael Bradley
The two, along with Kim Dotcom, faced extradition over the Megaupload website.
The pair say New Zealand is their home and they want to stay here.
The legal case dates back 10 years. Late last year the Supreme Court ruled that the two men were eligible for extradition.
The case was then referred to Minister of Justice Kri Faafoi.
"The continuing uncertainty associated with the extradition case has taken a heavy toll on our lives and the time has come to move on," the men said in a statement through their solicitor.
The statement said that once charges had been heard in a New Zealand court, the US would withdraw its extradition proceedings against the two men.
"While this means we will not be extradited, there is still a process ahead of us as we face charges in New Zealand. This matter being before the court, we will not be making any further comment at this time."
Kim Dotcom said after the decision was announced that he would continue fighting charges and extradition related to alleged copyright infringements by the Megaupload website.
In a series of tweets, Dotcom said he understood why the pair made the deal after 10 years.
But he will not accept the injustice he claimed they had all experienced.
I’m now the last man standing in this fight and I will continue to fight because unlike my co-defendants I won’t accept the injustice we have been subjected to. If I have to go to jail for what Megaupload users did on our site then many Big Tech CEOs are in the same boat with me.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 10, 2022
