Site's employees face a long wait before extradition verdict is reached.

Megaupload case delayed until 2013

The extradition case surrounding controversial file-sharing site Megaupload and its employees has been moved back to March 2013.

It means that employees of the site facing extradition to the US over copyright and fraud charges will not learn their fate until a verdict is reached next year.

The case was postponed by a New Zealand judge in order to allow more time for legal arguments to be resolved and follows an earlier ruling regarding the legality of a raid on the site creator Kim Dotcom’s mansion.

Whilst the case has been provisionally set for March 25th, the US is set to appeal against both decisions.

Dotcom faces charges of copyright theft, money laundering and racketeering and faces a possible jail sentence of up to 20 years if he is convicted within the US.

It has been claimed that illegally shared and copyrighted movies, amongst other media, has cost rights holders more than $500m (£322m) in lost revenue.

The US Department of Justice also alleges that the company generated around $175m from advertising and membership fees.

Lawyers for Mr Dotcom have denied the charges, stating that the site simply offered an online storage service and the majority of its traffic was legitimate.

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