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bases here or nuclear capabilities. That’s good. On top of that, you are far enough away. “These are the darkest kinds of scenarios. If there was ever a nuclear war you’re the most likely to survive in New Zealand.”

THE FIRST APPROACH for residency came in February 2010, the month before the FBI started its investigation into Megaupload. During their second visit to New Zealand, the couple met with David Cooper, chief executive at the immigration specialist firm Malcolm Pacific, set up by former immigration minister Aussie Malcolm to assist would-be migrants and one of the most expensive immigration agents in the country.

Dotcom also formed a relationship with A-List law firm Simpson Grierson, a connection which would prove invaluable when the raid happened two years later.

Everyone was accommodating and positive with the German multi-millionaire. “David Cooper was a nice guy,” says Dotcom. “We were thinking about all kinds of different places. We were thinking about moving back to Germany. We looked at a house in Finland. We were really undecided.” The support from Cooper and Greg Towers at Simpson Grierson fixed the decision for the couple and they decided to see if it was possible to get residency.

Immigration NZ, the agency charged with approving and managing the flow of would-be residents and other visitors to New Zealand, was contacted by David Cooper. Malcolm Pacific was the gold-plated agency among those offering services to potential New Zealanders — a basic residency at the simplest level would cost about $15,000. For Dotcom, it was entirely in keeping with his extraordinary wealth that he would hire the best and most expensive firm in the country to secure him residency and then be represented by the chief executive.

Cooper was bluntly honest to Immigration NZ about his client’s past. Yes, he said, Dotcom had convictions which would likely make him ineligible for residency. However, relying on recent valuations of Megaupload, he emphasised his client’s estimated wealth, saying, “Mr Dotcom was a billionaire with a lot to offer New Zealand in terms of job creation and investment.” Dotcom wanted, he said, to come into New Zealand on the “investor” scheme which supported a residency application with $10 million of investment.

An examination of documents dating back to the first contact with Immigration NZ shows the enthusiasm officials had for securing Dotcom as one of a handful of “investors” granted residency under the scheme.

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