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It also overlooked the struggle it had taken to establish the company and how 2010, in contrast to other years, was the only time there was “substantial money,” says Ortmann. By then, the ownership of the company was also well established.

Kim Dotcom                    68%            Chief executive officer
Mathias Ortmann            25%            Chief technical officer
Julius Bencko                  2.5%          Graphic director
Sven Echternach             1%              Business development
Bram Van der Kolk         2.5%          Chief programmer
Hong Kong investor       1%              Unknown

The FBI also set income levels for money received by those members of the Megaupload team who would later be indicted, although it used only figures for the 2010 financial year.

Kim Dotcom                    $42,000,000
Mathias Ortmann            $9,000,000
Julius Bencko                  $1,000,000
Sven Echternach             $500,000
Bram Van der Kolk         $2,000,000
Finn Batato                      $400,000
Andrus Nomm                 $100,000

Other records, filed with the High Court in Auckland, give an understanding of how the company’s fortunes escalated dramatically. They show the extraordinary increase in money paid to Dotcom for his share of the business.

2010        $40,784,372
2009        $19,960, 776
2008        $4,630,165
2007        $2,746,754

The year 2010 signified a shift from the operation as it was conceived — with little infrastructure — to a business which was preparing to face the future. It was a year, says van der Kolk, which paid off “five years of hard work”.

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