Kim Dotcom declares himself ‘broke’

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has claimed he is broke due to legal costs after his arrest in 2012.

Dotcom told the BBC that he has spent $10 million (£6.4m) on legal costs since the arrest in New Zealand after being accused of internet piracy.

He denies charges of racketeering, conspiring to commit copyright infringement and money laundering.

"The [US authorities] have certainly managed to drain my resources and dehydrate me, and without lawyers I am defenceless," he said.

"They used that opportunity to try and get my bail revoked and that’s what I’m facing."

Dotcom had employed a local firm to fight the attempt by the US to extradite him, but they have since stepped down. He will now represent himself.

Last year, Dotcom stated on Twitter that he invented two-factor authentication, just hours after the social media site announced support for the security measure.

2013 also saw him launch an Android app for his Mega cloud storage platform.