- A Queenstown mansion linked to Kim Dotcom likely to return to market after mysteriously appearing for sale for a day in October.
- The five-bedroom house, valued at $15.63 million, is owned by a company controlled by Dotcom's wife.
- Roger Ver, known as "Bitcoin Jesus", holds a mortgage over the property, controlling its sale.
A Queenstown-Lakes mansion linked to Kim Dotcom is likely to be relisted for sale just months after it mysteriously appeared and disappeared from the market.
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The five-bedroom house on Mount Alfred Ridge, in Glenorchy, has an RV of just under $16 million, and boasts breathtaking views of the mountains and Lake Wakatipu.
The property last sold in 2021 for $15.1m, with records showing it was built in 2017 and is owned by a company controlled by Dotcom’s wife, Elizabeth.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent David Penrose told the New Zealand Herald late last month to “watch this space”.
The listing from when it briefly hit the market in October noted it was located in a premium position within one of New Zealand’s most exclusive gated estates. “This architecturally-designed 650sqm five-bedroom, three-bathroom residence encapsulates exceptional detail throughout,” the listing on OneRoof said.
The five-bedroom home on Mount Alfred Ridge, in Glenorchy, hit the market on October 14, but was withdrawn a day later. Photo / Supplied
The Queenstown house is packed with luxury features. Photo / Supplied
The view from the Queenstown home is stunning. Photo / Supplied
The property had a designer kitchen, a “large open fireplace, ideal for family or entertaining”, and provisions for a media room, sunroom and a gym, along with an expansive garage with internal access.
The listing described diesel-fired underfloor heating throughout, including a ground-mounted 68 solar panel system and north-facing solar panels on the roof.
“Oriented north-west with breath-taking vistas across Lake Wakatipu, this property is situated on 2.6044ha (more or less) along with shared ownership of 89ha, including 9km of hiking trails, a lakefront clubhouse with dining facilities, a spa, pool, and Lake Fyfe for trout fishing. With heli-skiing on your doorstep, let the adventure begin.
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“An airfield is located nearby for time-conscious travellers.”
The New Zealand Herald reported in November that the house was mortgaged to wealthy crypto-evangelist Roger, who is also known online as “Bitcoin Jesus”, who had cut an $89m deal with the US government to drop tax evasion charges.
The report said that the home could not be sold without the approval of Ver, who recently cut a $89m deal with the US Government to drop tax evasion charges that could have seen him imprisoned for 109 years.
Kim Dotcom is recovering from a stroke and facing extradition. Photo / Greg Bowker
A photo of Dotcom and Roger Ver in Queenstown, which Dotcom posted on X in 2023. Photo / Supplied
“Property records show Roger Ver - known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ - has a mortgage over the Queenstown home where Dotcom lives with wife Liz and children,” the Herald report said.
“Through it, Ver holds control over any sale or major change to the $15m property that has expansive views across Lake Wakatipu.”
Dotcom, who has been fighting extradition attempts by the United States for some time, has sought out expensive and palatial properties since arriving in New Zealand in 2009, most notably the $30m (rented) mansion in Coatesville where he was arrested in 2012 after an airborne assault carried out by elite anti-terrorist officers from the police’s Special Tactics Group.
The raid was part of a worldwide FBI operation to take down Dotcom’s Megaupload file-sharing website, which was claimed to be at the centre of a massive criminal copyright operation. The home subsequently sold to the ZURU Toys magnates, siblings Anna, Mat and Nick Mowbray, in 2016 for $32.5m.
The New Zealand Herald reported that Dotcom then lived for a time in a top-floor apartment on Princes Wharf opposite the Hyatt Hotel before moving to Queenstown and into his current $15m lakeside home around 2021.
The Coatesville mansion, formerly occupied by Dotcom, was bought by the owners of ZURU Toys in 2016 for $32.5m. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom Dunedin mansion that Dotcom denied buying. Photo / Supplied
The Herald reported that Dotcom and Ver's relationship was not new as they had appeared on a crypto influencer-style podcast talking about digital currencies five years ago.
Ver was also the major investor in a company launched by Dotcom as a crypto trading platform - that went into liquidation in July 2023 with liquidator reports showing Ver took the mortgage in 2021, but was not visible on the public file until two caveats were placed over the property in 2024.
In November the year before, Ver had posted to his X account a photo of what appeared to be him and Dotcom driving along the Lake Wakatipu coastal road, wrote Fisher.
“With the post, he wrote: ‘Thanks for the #BitcoinCash hospitality Kim Dotcom.’ Dotcom replied: ‘Roger Roger.’”
The health of Dotcom, who suffered a severe stroke, was raised but dismissed at his latest extradition proceedings, with Justice minister Paul Goldsmith considering it was not grounds to halt extradition.
OneRoof records show that Dotcom owns a multimillion-dollar lifestyle block in Auckland’s Coatesville, near the “Dotcom Mansion”, with an RV of more than $6m.
The listing of the Queenstown home follows Dotcom’s return there after a stint in Dunedin while he recovered from the stroke.
Earlier this year, Dotcom denied reports he had acquired one of Dunedin’s “most-admired” mansions. Stuff reported that the internet entrepreneur had bought the Mosgiel property, which had been on the market for sale for more than two years.
However, Dotcom told OneRoof via text message in April that he did not own the property. “I have not purchased a property in Bush Road, I just live there for my stroke recovery,” the text said.
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