The investigation by law enforcement officials on the Megaupload file sharing site went into another part of the world today. Hong Kong customs officials have announced that, working with the US Department of Justice and the FBI, they have seized assets from Megaupload in the city that are worth about $42 million.
The press release states that 100 officers raided four specific targets in Hong Kong as part of their investigation. The targets included hotel rooms, offices and homes. The press release stated:
Customs officers had also made inquiries with target individuals, including company directors, and detected about HK$330 million worth of crime proceeds of bank savings and security investment. The assets have been frozen in accordance with related ordinances. The operation is on-going.
During the investigation, it was found that the hotel rooms rented by the syndicate for office use and rest area were luxury suite rooms, which cost HK$100,000 odd per day. Besides, the room was equipped with a number of large-scale high-speed servers and large-model TV screens, which are suspected to be in connection with the case.
Megaupload was shut down by US officials on Thursday and seven people in the company were charged with piracy in connection with the case. Four of the team members. were arrested on Thursday. The arrests included its founder Kim Dotcom, who is also apparenty one of the world"s best online players in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. He and three other Megaupload team members will make a court appearance in New Zealand on Monday; three other team members are still at large.