MEGAUPLOAD founder Kim Dotcom and his wife need more than $200,000 a month to get by, a New Zealand court has heard.Dotcom, facing extradition to the United States, and his heavily pregnant wife Mona are seeking to have some of their seized assets to be released at a hearing at the High Court in Auckland today.
Crown prosecutor Anne Toohey told the court that together Dotcom and his wife have requested that $220,000 a month in living costs be released.
Among the monthly costs requested are $24,000 for body guards, $29,000 for staff including nannies, a butler and Mrs Dotcom's personal assistant, $5000 for landline phone costs, $8500 for gas and power, and $6500 for tutoring the couple's four-year-old child.
Costs for the maintenance of the empty $30 million rented Dotcom Mansion in Coatesville, north of Auckland, have also been requested.
Ms Toohey said many of these costs were unreasonable, given the average annual income of a New Zealand household is about $79,000.
She said that if the funds were released, the amount would almost drain, in the space of a month, Dotcom's New Zealand Rabobank account, which contains about $300,000.
The 38-year-old Megaupload founder was granted bail last week. He is awaiting an extradition to the US, where he is facing charges of racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering.
However, he could be returned to custody if the Crown's appeal of the decision to release him on electronically monitored bail is successful.
A decision on this is expected this afternoon.
optuszoo.com.au 29 Feb 2012
Another legal joke at the expense of the public coffers.
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