Police Target Impero IPTV Resellers – Over 600K Euros Seized

By iptv.legal , in News , at June 23, 2023

Police in Italy are targeting resellers of Impero IPTV which involves several suspects.

In a recently launched operation, the Special Privacy Protection and Technological Fraud Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Italy have targeted 13 suspects across Italy and Germany.

The individuals under investigation, twelve Italian nationals and one of Albanian origin are believed to be operating social media channels dedicated to the sale and resale of illegal IPTV subscriptions.

This type of operation is very common among unverified IPTV services.

The operation was initiated based on a decree issued by the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Milan, marking another proactive stance by Italian authorities to combat the rising threat of digital piracy.

Detailed locations of the suspects were not provided in the announcement, though a police video released showcased maps of Italy and Germany with numerous marked areas indicating the scope and international scale of the operation.

The authorities extended their reach to Frankfurt, Germany, where operations were conducted against two Italian subjects.

The cross-border operation was coordinated through international judicial cooperation channels led by Eurojust, a unit of the European Union responsible for stimulating and improving coordination among member states in investigations and prosecutions.

The State Police of Hesse – Police Headquarters of Frankfurt – acted on a European Investigation Order issued by the Judicial Authority of Milan, showcasing the collaborative effort required to tackle digital piracy at an international level.

As part of the operation, the Italian authorities managed to shut down 60 channels on the messaging app Telegram, as well as a website used for selling illegal IPTV subscriptions.

Unfortunately, the names of these channels were not publicly disclosed, making it impossible to independently verify their shutdown.

The authorities identified one Telegram channel, ‘Impero IPTV’ (Empire IPTV), as a central hub for the suspected operation.

Despite the ongoing investigation, this channel appears to remain operational with almost 250 members. The status of these members and their potential involvement in the operation is yet to be determined.

A significant part of the investigation was dedicated to tracing and seizing the financial assets related to the operation.

The authorities identified accounts linked to the suspects on digital payment portals, money transfer services, and cryptocurrency exchanges.

As a result, assets worth over 620,000 euros were seized, demonstrating the significant financial gain that such illegal operations can garner.

It’s important to note that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages.

The suspects’ responsibility for the alleged crimes will only be definitively determined following an irrevocable sentence of conviction, according to the police.

Therefore, while the operation highlights a strong response to digital piracy, the case’s final outcome will be key in determining the long-term impact of such enforcement actions on the persistent and ever-evolving challenge of digital piracy.

For more information, refer to the video below and the original report on TorrentFreak.

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