Dotcom offers $US5m bounty for whistleblower info that could help his case
But the big man is fuzzy on details of the payout.
Kim Dotcom, who faces an extradition hearing in July, has put a $US5 million bounty on the table for information that could help his case (mirroring a move by Flight MH370 families, some of whom are backing a new crowdfunding campaign that seeks to raise a $US5 million reward for whistleblowers).
“Let me be clear, we are asking for information that proves unlawful or corrupt conduct by the US government, the New Zealand government, spy agencies, law enforcement and Hollywood,” Mr Dotcom told TorrentFreak.
How will he fund the bounty, and who will decide the worth of information?
The details are still being ironed out.
“I’m currently in talks with my legal team about how to formalize the bounty. We will probably setup a trust account to deposit the bounty and provide terms and conditions for anyone who will provide information. I will not just offer a bounty for the piece of ‘case winning’ information but for anything useful,” Mr Dotcom said.
Mr Dotcom says his legal team's opinion is that disclosure of such information would be legal (although the experience of Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and Julian Assange has been that, justified or not in a legal context, the US government has taken steps against data leakers).
He promises anonymity, and free legal assistance for whistleblowers, and suggests they use a new tool from UK paper The Guardian called Secure Drop.
Mr Dotcom faces piracy, racketeering and money laundering charges filed by the US Department of Justice, and civil suits brought by the MPAA (representing Hollywood studios) and the RIAA (representing multinational record labels).
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Dotcom offers $US5m bounty for whistleblower info that could help his case
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