A New Zealand judge is allowingMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom access to 6 million New Zealand dollars ($4.8million) from his frozen bank accounts in order to pay his mounting legal feesand living expenses.
The 38-year-old multi-millionaire founder of the file-sharing site was arrestedin January after U.S. authorities accused him of facilitating copyright piracyon a massive scale through his website. U.S. authorities are trying toextradite him on charges of money laundering and racketeering.
Dotcom denies the charges, claiming he's not responsible for users who chose toillegally download films and songs.
A judge earlier gave Dotcom access to funds to pay for living expenses but notlegal costs. The ruling Wednesday includes 1 million New Zealand dollars($805,000) for the annual rent on his luxury estate.