Prosecution has now been brought against a man suspected of being the administrator of the illegal IPTV service Smart IPTV.
Smart IPTV was a medium-sized and well-functioning IPTV service that provided many TV channels and movies. Payments for the service could only be made with the cryptocurrency bitcoin.
After a police report by the Rights Alliance in 2019, a preliminary investigation was initiated. After a period of investigation, the police raided the suspect’s home at the end of 2021. Images from the house search show, according to the indictment, that the suspect at that time was handling Smart IPTV. He was logged in at both email accounts and crypto wallets with links to the illegal service. Cryptocurrency was seized during the search.
During the raid, five mobile phones and a computer were found, all of which contained IPTV-related or crypto-related material. Among other things, the police have found e-mails with IPTV customers and e-mails about problems with a server.
The case includes 20 movies, and there is a sequestration decision of SEK 12,350,000. The suspect has, during the preliminary investigation, denied wrongdoing. The trial is set for January 23rd.
Illegal IPTV is a major problem in Sweden. As many as 380,000 Swedish households (9%) pay for illegal IPTV services, according to the analysis firm Mediavision. The payments are usually made with Bitcoin and generate millions for criminals and organized crime. It causes significant damage to the rights holders and also leads to damage to society in the form of, among other things, reduced tax revenues and lost jobs.
Published: 2022-12-01