The Spanish authorities have arrested seven people behind a pirate IPTV and card sharing service. In total, the offenders were sentenced to nine years in prison. However, the defendants avoided custodial sentences by returning most of the earnings generated from this illegal activity.
For several years now, illegal IPTV and streaming services have become the bane of rights holders. Many countries now have specialized cells whose job it is to track down and arrest people who are hiding on these illegal platforms.
In France, this responsibility falls to Arcom, the new digital policeman. The institution has also revealed that it has blocked 400 pirate sites since it began operations in January 2022. In Brazil, anti-piracy forces blocked 226 sites and 461 pirate applications during a major operation in June 2022. They also arrested pirates who were raging on the Metaverse, a first.
However, we have just learned that the Spanish justice has just condemned seven people, at the origin of a pirate IPTV and card sharing service, to prison terms for fraud. The two leaders of the network were sentenced to 44 months in prison eachand the other five to sentences ranging from 9 to 18 months.
Also read: Illegal streaming – dozens of IPTV sites and platforms are in the sights of justice
9 years in prison in total for these pirates at the head of an IPTV service
Note, however, that the court chose to suspend their custodial sentences, after the defendants chose to repay most of the earnings from this activity (nearly one million euros). This court decision is the culmination of an investigation that began in May 2019. The Spanish audiovisual rights management group EGEDA has filed a criminal complaint against Comprarccam, a provider of pirate IPTV and map-sharing subscriptions.
After investigation, the authorities discovered that this platform served no less than 15,000 customers in Spain. The two leaders have been identified and located in the cities of Salamanca and Zamora. Searches were carried out in Zamora, Salamanca, Cordoba, Valencia and Malaga. During these operations, seven people were arrested and the police seized computer equipment, mobile phones, more than 10,000 euros in cash, as well as seven gold bars.
Unsurprisingly, the group’s website and associated pirate services were shut down. Financial accounts and payment processing facilities have been frozen. In total and according to the estimates of the beneficiaries, the damage would be around 11.8 million euros. As for income, this platform would have brought in 1.2 million euros to the defendants. The majority of the sum has been reimbursed, as mentioned above.
Source : Torrent Freak
