Bail continued for Kim Dotcom

Kim Dotcom will retain his freedom until his extradition hearing after a New Zealand High Court judge rejected a bid to deny him bail.

The Crown, acting on behalf of the United States government, appealed a North Shore District Court decision last week which allowed him bail, which had been twice denied earlier.

Crown lawyer Anne Toohey had argued it remained possible Dotcom, wanted in the United States on internet piracy charges, still has access to funds that haven't been seized and he may seek safe haven in Germany, where he could avoid extradition to the US.

But Justice Timothy Brewer agreed with Judge Nevin Dawson's ruling in North Shore District Court that he no longer presented a significant flight risk.

Dotcom hugged and kissed his wife upon hearing the news.

Dotcom's lawyer, Paul Davison, had argued that fleeing New Zealand would be an impractical possibility for his client.

He said it would cause great disruption to Dotcom's family life and Dotcom is committed to defending the charges against him.

Dotcom and co-accused Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk are facing charges of racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering which were laid by the United States government, which wants to extradite them.

The extradition hearing, expected to take three weeks, is tentatively set down to begin on August 20.

Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk are all on bail.

Earlier on Wednesday, High Court judge Judith Potter agreed to release $74,000 from one of Kim Dotcom's seized bank accounts to pay creditors owed $500,000 by his companies.

The funds would be put into a solicitor's trust account and distributed among the creditors.

The Crown said Dotcom and his wife also requested $220,000 a month in living costs to be released.

Toohey said the costs were unreasonable, given the average annual income of a New Zealand household is about $79,000.

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