Mona Dotcom talks to members of the media after leaving the High Court in Auckland on Feb. 29, 2012
Why should she be punished for her husband’s alleged misdeeds? It’s the question Mona Dotcom is asking in a petition filed with the Courts of New Zealand. Most of all, she wants her $150,000 Mercedes back. It’s hardly any matter that she doesn’t have a driver’s license.
The lavish lifestyle of Megaupload’s founder Kim Dotcom has been widely documented since his January 20, 2012 arrest over allegations his popular website was a hotbed of digital piracy. During the bust, federal agents carted off millions of dollars in luxury goods, including 18 cars worth nearly $5 million, found at the Dotcom mansion. While Kim’s assets were confiscated pending trial, on the grounds that the money he used to buy them was obtained illegally, his wife Mona claims she shouldn’t face such punishment. In fact, little has been known about the 23-year-old Mona (or her assets) until this latest court filing, reported by the New Zealand Herald.
(PHOTOS: The Larger-than-Life Lifestyle of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom)
Elliott Kemper / Getty Images
Mona, glamorous and petite, petitioned the court to return her Mercedes G55AMG — presumably the black SUV with a license plate reading “POLICE” — which was towed away on Jan. 20 during the raid on the family’s mansion in Coatesville, New Zealand. She is also requesting the return of two fiberglass face sculptures created by British artist Christian Colin, one of which is worth $78,000. She claimed in the filing that it was a 21st birthday gift from Kim, now 38.
Indeed, Mona has been showered with extravagant birthday gifts since the couple’s June 2009 marriage: the Mercedes was her 22nd birthday gift, and on her 23rd birthday last June, she received a Chanel diamond wristwatch. All have been confiscated in the raid. (She’s also requesting the return of her pink iPhone, a laptop and a Rolex thought to be worth around $23,000.)
Aside from the extravagant possessions she wants returned, Mona wrote in the filing, “I am simply asking the courts to return my own property and make reasonable provision for our family’s ongoing maintenance and care.” The rent on their mansion 15 miles northwest of Auckland runs $24,000 a month, but the expenses don’t stop there.
For the 15 people that they say live in the house, including Mona and Kim, their five children (including newborn twins), Mona’s two young brothers and six household staff members, their gas bill runs $1,500, electricity costs $2,750 and phone calls set them back nearly $4,000. Kim remains under house arrest in the mansion awaiting an August extradition hearing.