AMSTERDAM - Dutch authorities were involved in an operation that resulted in one of the largest illegal streaming services in the world being shut down. It was announced on Wednesday that 11 suspects from Croatia had been arrested in an operation supported by Eurojust and Europol.
According to a statement from Eurojust, the suspects were arrested because their service “illegally distributed material from streaming services online, including films and series.” The illegal service, which also pirated more than two thousand TV channels, was being used by more than 22 million people worldwide.
This resulted in the service making 250 million euros in illegal profits every month. The copyright holders allegedly missed out on 10 billion euros in revenue because of the streaming service.
Suspects allegedly used “encrypted messaging services” to communicate and evade authorities. They also used false identities to register phone numbers, credit cards, server rentals, and television subscriptions.
The service was taken down on November 26 after a collaboration between the authorities was set up by Eurojust. The Dutch financial crimes inspectorate FIOD and the Public Prosecution Service of Rotterdam worked with authorities from Italy, Croatia, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to complete the operation.
Over 1.6 million euros in cryptocurrency and 40,000 euros in cash were seized during the searches in Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Croatia, the United Kingdom, and China.
Separately, Dutch authorities also recently teamed up with their counterparts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in an investigation of 247TVStream. The website served pirated live videos primarily showing sports events to people around the globe.
The website earned revenue of approximately 7 million dollars, according to the indictment detailing charges against Noor Nabi Chowdhury and his brother, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman. The two were alleged to be responsible for running the site since 2017, collecting subscription fees from about 10 dollars per month to watch sporting events and live television channels.
The two are accused of signing up for multiple paid accounts for various legitimate streaming services, and then transmitting those streams to 247TVStream users. They are also accused of using shell companies and one unwitting individual’s personal data as part of a scheme to falsify documentation about 247TVStream ownership information. This was needed to gain access to payment processing services and bank accounts used to collect subscriber fees, and to pay for their own infrastructure, the indictment states.
“The estimated economic harm caused by 247TVStream to television program copyright owners, as well as licensed streaming services, is more than $100 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York wrote on Nov. 19.
A resident of New York, Chowdhury was arrested on a wide range of copyright-related charges, as well as wire fraud and identity theft accusations. Rahman is accused of the same, but remains at large.
