Mona Dotcom's separation from Kim Dotcom might have put part of his empire beyond his reach. The family's ownership of the new Mega website is tied up in a trust in her name.
The Dotcom family ownership of Mega.co.nz, the businessmans encryption-based cloud storage site, is held in trust through a company called MD Corporate Trustee Ltd of which she is the only director and shareholder.
Signs of the separation have emerged in other companies registered in her name with the Companies Office.
Three other entities of which Mona Dotcom was director, and her MD Corporate Trustees Ltd was shareholder, all changed last Tuesday.
On that day, May 13, Dotcom replaced his wife as director of Kimpire Music Ltd, MD Corporate Holdings Ltd and Dotty Media Ltd. The shareholdings switched from MD Corporate Trustees Ltd to Coatesville Trustee Services Ltd.
She appears to retain control of the Mega shareholding company. Mega is just months away from a backdoor listing on the NZ stock exchange. It would join the sharemarket through a company already on the exchange, buying it for $210 million and attempting to recoup the money through share sales.
Mona Dotcom's interest in the company, through MD Corporate Trustees, is 17.7 per cent. The balance is held by a range of private investors. The largest shareholding, at 18.3 per cent, rests with businessman and National Party donor Shen Zhao Wu.
Kim Dotcom announced the separation on Saturday night on Twitter, saying it was "a family matter and we would ask for privacy at this difficult time".
His announcement came in the same week that Immigration New Zealand ordered the deportation of the four nannies employed to look after the couples five children. Their work visas had expired.
Dotcom had been actively involved in the creation of Mega, then stepped back in September last year to focus on building a music business and fighting his extradition to the US.
An Internet Party spokesman said the separation would not affect the Internet Party and Mr Dotcom had made it clear he wanted to continue.
Mr Dotcom could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Separation stakes
*Mona Dotcom is the only director and shareholder of a company which holds the family's ownership of Mega.co.nz.
*Kim Dotcom recently replaced his wife as director of three other companies, and shareholdings in them were moved too.
*Mega.co.nz is months away from a backdoor listing on the NZ stock exchange.
- David Fisher, NZ Herald
