📸

manager of the Business Migration section based in Wellington, wrote that knowledge of the application and case would bring accusations of "buying residence".

Questions of influence were also in the mind of Dotcom's lawyer, Greg Towers, a partner at Simpson Grierson. Dotcom had met with Auckland mayor John Banks, a former National Party politician. Banks and Dotcom had discussed business, the internet and politics. In July 2010, Dotcom had put $50,000 towards Banks' 2010 mayoral campaign — and Banks, in an apparently unconnected gesture, had offered advice on residency. According to Dotcom, Banks also offered to raise the tycoon's application with his former National Party contacts. Towers advised against it, when Dotcom raised the matter. It needed to be done on the papers, he said.

By June 2010, Cooper was ready to go ahead with the application for residency under the "Investor Plus" category. Immigration NZ files record the application was sent directly to Grigg. In a June 8 2010 letter, Cooper wrote: "Mr Dotcom is of interest to the media and is actively seeking to avoid such attention." Keep the application confidential, he asked, and be aware much of what is written and said of him is untrue. "Mr Dotcom has nothing to hide and seems to be a man that prefers transparency and full disclosure," he wrote.

Evidence was provided showing $10 million was able to be invested in New Zealand and Immigration NZ began its investigation to resolve questions about the money.

The obstacles were plain, even at this early stage. Author and editor Ian Wishart, who lived near Dotcom's mansion, had written in the April edition of his Investigate magazine that Dotcom was a "con-artist, fraudster and user of multiple identities whose business activities include porn websites and video piracy". Grigg's report noted that the article had referred specifically to the Immigration Act saying it would be unlikely Dotcom would be allowed to stay in New Zealand. Also in the Immigration NZ documents was a Herald on Sunday newspaper story which incorrectly claimed Dotcom was being investigated for issues relating to registration of his New Zealand-owned cars.

Immigration NZ began its investigation, getting staff in its Hong Kong office to make inquiries of government departments relating to Megaupload's registration and tax status. Accounts and other paperwork was sought from Dotcom and "the credibility of the documents the applicant provided and the results of the verification done" left Immigration NZ's specialists "satisfied the nominated investment funds were lawfully earned".

Dotcom's convictions were declared, even though the paperwork put before Immigration NZ showed he had no police history in Germany or Hong Kong. The German history was wiped after seven years —

59

📸