📸

a "clean slate" provision reserved for the least serious law-breaking.

Immigration officials balanced the voided convictions against the "substantial economic benefits that Mr Dotcom would provide to New Zealand". Officials recorded Dotcom's largesse was already filtering into the community — Simpson Grierson had supplied evidence showing "a commitment to philanthropic activity in New Zealand".

The Immigration NZ investigation also dealt with the allegations made in Investigate, across the media and on the internet. At least 18 months before the raid, when it was all dragged up again, it was found to be largely without proof. "There is a great deal of information about Mr Dotcom on the internet and in the media. Much of this information is negative in nature. Careful consideration was given to this — however, there was no credible evidence found that would substantiate any of that material."

ONGOING MEDIA SCRUTINY was apparent — as well as the Investigate article, there was interest from the current affairs show Campbell Live — host John Campbell would later raise many of the questions which emerged abound the Dotcom case — and the Herald on Sunday.

"When I came here I had a life of eight years as a total phantom," said Dotcom. "I've done no interviews, I've kept myself out of the media. In Hong Kong, (I was) totally under the radar and hardly ever going out to any public things where media might be present. Keeping it really simple and full of friends.

"And then you come here and just because you stay in a house like this the whole world starts looking at you. You have paparazzi taking photos and people asking questions and John Campbell doing his piece about how odd I am and then the Herald (on Sunday) right away looking for a bad angle."

The story which was printed — and which the newspaper subsequently retracted and apologised for — raised questions about Dotcom's car registrations. The number plates were registered in the name of bodyguard Wayne Tempero, and the story suggested it did not comply with the law. The story also listed convictions which, technically, no longer existed because they had been judged to be minor and wiped from the record. Dotcom said the coverage showed "an attitude that is totally destructive".

"I said, I have two choices here — I can say I don't want to be in an environment like that, cancel everything and just not move to New Zealand and move somewhere else or we fight that, right away,

📸