Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has separated from his wife.

The 40-year-old Megaupload founder announced the split from his wife Mona Dotcom in a statement on Twitter on Saturday night.

“Mona and I have separated. This is a family matter and we would ask for privacy at this difficult time.”

The couple have five children, including twins born in Auckland in March 2012.

Dotcom lives in New Zealand and is awaiting extradition to the US, where he is facing charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering in relation to the popular file sharing website, Megaupload.

He’s also launched the Internet Party to contest this year’s election.