Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom wins new legal battle in New Zealand

Kim Dotcom wins £45,000 in damages for, among other things, "loss of dignity and injury to feelings"

A New Zealand judge has sided with Kim Dotcom in his latest court hearing, claiming that the country's Attorney General broke the law by not handing over information about him stored by public agencies.

According to Reuters, the serial internet entrepreneur has won his latest battle with authorities in New Zealand who are looking to extradite him to the United States.

The court awarded Dotcom NZ$30,000 (£15,000) in damages for "loss of benefit" and a further NZ$60,000 (£30,000) for "loss of dignity and injury to feelings".

This particular case was handled by the country's Human Rights Review Tribunal, although it forms part of a wider extradition case that is currently with the Court of Appeal.

During the proceedings, Dotcom said that he had requested for certain information to be handed over to him in July 2015 but was denied a month later.

He claims that it could be used as evidence in his extradition battle. Born in Germany but settled in New Zealand, Dotcom is the founder of former file-sharing website Megaupload.

The site was abruptly closed down in 2012 following raids led by the FBI, who accused it of being a hotspot for online piracy. Subsequently, agents raided his Auckland mansion in search of further evidence.

As the Guardian reported at the time, Justice Helen Winkelmann ordered that the raid by New Zealand authorities, at the request of the FBI, was "illegal". She said the warrants used were "lacking adequate specificity as to the offence".

Following Winkelmann's ruling, Dotcom and a further accused said: "We are very happy with today's decision. We are digesting and analysing Justice Winkelmann's judgment and considering our next steps."

Eventually, this ruling was scrapped, and another judge said that he could be extradited back to the United States within time. There, he stands accused of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.

US authorities have accused Dotcom and three former executives at Megaupload of facilitating piracy with their service. US film studios and record companies claim that they lost more than $500 million as a result of piracy aided by Megaupload.

Meanwhile, it is thought that Dotcom and his colleagues made as much as $175 million from the business that, at one point, was one of the most popular websites on the internet.