TorrentFreak's Latest News

Operator of 'Bitcoin Invested' Pirate Site Movie2K Charged After More Than a DecadeErnesto Van der Sar, 19 Apr 12:49 PM At the start of the 2010s, M

Operator of 'Bitcoin Invested' Pirate Site Movie2K Charged After More Than a Decade Ernesto Van der Sar, 19 Apr 12:49 PM At the start of the 2010s, Movie2K was one of the most visited sites on the web. The site was an early adopter of pirate streaming and at its peak, secured a spot among the twenty most-visited websites in Germany, beating Twitter and Amazon. Movie2K's success generated a healthy revenue stream which its operators converted to a new and exciting 'currency' called Bitcoin. It's assumed that the goal was to keep the haul hidden from prying eyes, but more on that later. The site's reign ended with a surprise shut down in the spring of 2013. Many believed that legal troubles had plagued the site, a suspicion that was eventually confirmed years later when Dresden police announced several arrests. Early Arrests and Prison Sentences These initial arrests targeted one of the main operators, who received a one-year prison sentence for copyright infringement in 2023, as well as an eight-month sentence for money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. In the same criminal prosecution, the site's financial agent received a ten-month suspended prison sentence. All sentences were suspended and both men issued a full confession. In addition, at least one of the defendants helped the investigation into other suspects. Movie2K.to The authorities had also seized 2,700 bitcoins. These are currently valued at €160 million but were previously exchanged by the authorities in an "emergency sale" for 38.6 million euros. The money remains in custody pending a final decision on the fate of these criminal proceeds. While 2,700 bitcoins was already the largest seizure in a piracy-related prosecution, this figure was topped by the nearly 50,000 bitcoins the German authorities voluntarily seized earlier this year. Fresh Charges This second Bitcoin heist is connected to an ongoing prosecution where the Dresden General Prosecutor's Office announced its charges this week, more than a decade after the site shut down. The main suspect is one of Movie2K's main admins, who remained on the run for a long time. The 40-year-old German man has been listed as wanted internationally since 2019. He was eventually arrested in Spain last year and extradited to Germany to face prosecution. The defendant now faces charges including unauthorized commercial exploitation of copyrighted works and commercial money laundering. The second defendant, a 37-year-old Polish man, is charged with commercial money laundering and tax evasion. The Polish defendant was a friend of the main suspect and reportedly received a salary in Bitcoin for his work at the pirate streaming portal. As mentioned by Tarnkappe, the crackdown and investigation into Movie2K also led to a real estate agent from Berlin who allegedly received millions of euros from the site's operators through a Dutch mailbox company. The Prosecutor's Office notes that the Leipzig district court has yet to admit further charges against the real estate agent, who reportedly invested the money in physical properties. Billions in Bitcoin While the charges announced this week are significant, the earlier seizure of 50,000 bitcoins stands out most. These are valued at roughly 3 billion euros today and, as far as we know, they're yet to be sold. "The investigation into the handling of the seized Bitcoins is ongoing," the Dresden Prosecutor's Office notes. It's remarkable to see the recent developments in this case, considering that the site itself has been offline for eleven years. That said, with billions in Bitcoin at stake, perseverance seems to have paid off. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Ex-Mangamura Owner Must Pay $11m to Publishers; He Says He Won't Andy Maxwell, 18 Apr 08:18 PM From a standing start in 2016, manga piracy site Mangamura (Manga Village) took just two years to become the largest site of its type and the single largest online piracy threat Japanese publishers had ever encountered. Publishers including Shogakukan, Kadokawa, and Shueisha, and their anti-piracy partner CODA, estimated that in its relatively brief time online, Mangamura had caused a staggering $2.91 billion in losses. In April 2018, in the wake of a government announcement that detailed emergency website blocking against sites including Mangamura, the site suddenly disappeared and was never seen again. Then came the reckoning. A criminal investigation eventually led to the arrest of the site's operator, Romi Hoshino, in Manilla. After being deported to Japan and arrested, Hoshino faced a criminal trial and in June 2021, was handed a three-year prison sentence and financial penalties totaling around $650K. Publishers Sue For Damages Hoping to recoup some of their losses, in the summer of 2022 manga publishers Kodakawa, Shogakukan, and Shueisha filed a civil action against the former operator of Mangamura. Their lawsuit sought damages of 1.9 billion yen ($12.3 million at today's rates) from Hoshino, supported by evidence obtained from Google and Cloudflare, among others. Following his release in 2022, Hoshino hit the headlines last September when promoting the imminent release of his new book, The Truth About Mangamura, which appears to have generated mostly positive reviews on Amazon. Publishers Handed Big Win in Tokyo Whether Hoshino's book was a commercial success isn't clear. However, a decision handed down today at the Tokyo District Court in the civil action, brought against him by the publishers, carries a damages award big enough to upset even the most successful authors. According to the publishers' complaint, around 8,200 pirated copies of manga and magazines (73,000 volumes) were offered on Mangamura. With monthly visits of up to 100 million, totaling 538 million between April 2017 and April 2018, the publishers estimated overall damages in excess of 320 billion yen, around $2 billion at today's rates. The publishers' 1.9 billion yen claim, based on a calculation that multiplied the average number of views by the sales price of each of the 17 infringed works in suit, was the largest ever claim against a pirate site in Japan. Even then, it represented just a small part of the overall damages attributable to the site, the publishers argued. Judge Masaki Sugiura agreed that Mangamura caused damage to the publishers but awarded less than the 1.9 billion yen requested. The award of 1.7 billion yen, around $11 million, is still believed to be a record amount for a piracy case in Japan. Hoshino and Publishers Respond to Decision Outside the Tokyo District Court, Romi Hoshino appeared happy to answer questions about the decision. The full video is embedded below for any native speakers or those who have any confidence in the accuracy of the transcript. While the translation doesn't feel authentic enough for us to report on directly, there's no doubt when it comes to Hoshino's overall opinion of the decision. He rejects the decision, the amount, and even the result of the first trial that landed him behind bars. In the short term, Hoshino says he may appeal today's decision. Ultimately, however, he lacks any motivation to balance the books. "I have no intention of paying anything," he said, effortlessly closing the loop. A statement published on Kadokawa's website notes that the award for damages is appropriate; it also concedes that it will be "impossible to recover all of it." "We believe that it is of great significance that the illegality and liability for compensation regarding 'Mangamura' have been recognized in the judicial arena. Copyright infringement cases are not limited to pirated sites targeting manga, but also include movies, anime, etc., and the scope of damage is wide-ranging. Our company intends to take a resolute stance in dealing with cases of rights infringement," Kadokawa concludes. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Are you looking for a VPN service? TorrentFreak sponsor NordVPN has some excellent offers. ©2024 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company