Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom has been freed on bail after a New Zealand judge dismissed fears the internet tycoon would flee the country to escape US online piracy charges.
The 38-year-old German national said he was relieved to be released following a month in custody after New Zealand police, co-operating with a major US inquiry, raided his sprawling "Dotcom Mansion" in Auckland.
Mr Dotcom's lawyer Paul Davison said his client remained determined to fight US allegations that he masterminded "massive worldwide online piracy" through file-sharing website Megaupload and associated sites.
"My client's proposition is that the case they have presented doesn't have any substantial basis at all and, when it is analysed and revealed for what it is, that will be the view that prevails," he said.
The bail decision is a setback for US authorities, who are seeking to extradite Mr Dotcom and three others arrested in the raid on 20 January.
Two previous bail hearings had accepted the prosecution case that the internet millionaire was an "extreme flight risk" because he had the wealth and possible criminal connections to slip out of the country if he wanted.
But Judge Nevin Dawson said the danger of Mr Dotcom fleeing had diminished because all his funds had been seized and investigators had not uncovered any new bank accounts or assets in his name since his arrest.
Judge Dawson said Mr Dotcom "has every reason" to stay in New Zealand, rather than go on the run.
"He would live his life as a fugitive, he would be abandoning his expectant wife and three children and he would effectively lose all the considerable assets and bank accounts in a number of countries that have been seized," he said.
The judge granted Mr Dotcom bail but barred him from accessing the internet and helicopter flights, ordering him to stay in his Auckland property unless there was a medical emergency.
Mr Dotcom, who allegedly earned €31m from his internet business in 2010 alone, declined to comment on his case, aside from saying his treatment by New Zealand police "resembled an audition for American Idol".
"I just want to go home and see my family," he told reporters. "It's been a month so I'm really happy to be out."
The US Justice Department and FBI allege Megaupload and related sites netted more than $175m (€132m) in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners over $500m (€377m) by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.
Megaupload was founded in 2005 but shut down last month when its assets were frozen as part of the US inquiry.
