Another of Dotcom's co-accused to be freed on bail

Feb 10, 2012, 22:29 GMT

Wellington - Another co-accused of Kim Dotcom, the millionaire German founder of the file-sharing Megaupload website, is to be released on bail next week, reports said Saturday.

Finn Batato, 38, a citizen and resident of Germany, was given bail in late January but had to remain in prison until bail conditions were finalized on Friday, Radio New Zealand reported.

However, as part of Batato's bail conditions, he must be electronically monitored, and must stay in jail over the weekend to allow the device to be set up.

Batato, the company's chief marketing officer, will be remanded to the same address as his co-accused, Mega Upload's chief programmer Bram van der Kolk, who has already been released on bail.

Van der Kolk, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, and Batato are allowed no access to the internet as part of the bail conditions.

Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, is wanted in the United States for copyright piracy. He was arrested last month after police raided a luxury mansion he was renting north of Auckland.

The US FBI wants Dotcom, 38, and the other co-accused to face trial on charges of racketeering, money laundering and copyright infringement.

They allege that Megaupload breached intellectual property laws, costing copyright owners more than 500 million US dollars.

Dotcom, who has New Zealand residency, was denied bail ahead of a deportation hearing to be held in two weeks. He denies any wrongdoing.