Italian Police Dismantle €3.2 Billion Video Piracy Network in Massive International Sting

November 27, 2024
Italian Police Dismantle €3.2 Billion Video Piracy Network in Massive International Sting
  • The operation targeted 102 individuals, leading to Croatian authorities executing precautionary custody orders for 11 suspects under investigation.

  • The piracy activities inflicted damages exceeding €10 billion ($10.5 billion) on affected broadcasting companies, highlighting the significant financial impact of such illegal operations.

  • The two-year investigation revealed that the criminals employed encrypted messaging apps, false identities, and forged documents to conceal their activities and avoid detection.

  • Authorities discovered three main administrators of the operation located in England and the Netherlands, along with 80 control panels for streaming services found in Italy.

  • The operation resulted in the seizure of approximately 30 servers, 270 IPTV devices, and the takedown of 100 domains, alongside the identification of 560 resellers.

  • In addition to the piracy operation, authorities confiscated over €1.6 million in cryptocurrencies and €40,000 in cash, along with drugs and weapons during the raids.

  • Prosecutors estimate that the operation generated approximately $264.3 million in revenue each month, totaling around $3.2 billion annually.

  • Italian police, in collaboration with Eurojust, Europol, and various European police forces, have successfully dismantled a massive transnational video piracy network that served over 22 million users across Italy and Europe.

  • The illegal streaming service operated a sophisticated hierarchical organization that captured and resold content from major platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, generating an estimated €250 million in monthly revenue.

  • More than 270 postal police officers conducted 89 searches across 15 Italian regions, along with 14 searches in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, and Croatia.

  • The suspects from the dismantled network are expected to face serious charges, including copyright infringement, computer fraud, unauthorized access to computer systems, and money laundering.

  • The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance praised the operation as a significant victory against sophisticated international piracy networks.

Summary based on 15 sources


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