Pierluigi Paganini
February 01, 2024
The police in Saxony, Germany, have seized 50,000 Bitcoin (more than $2.1 billion at the current exchange rate) from the former operator of the now-defunct piracy site movie2k.
“This is the most extensive security of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date.” reads the press release published by the German police.
The man voluntarily transferred the crypto funds to wallets under the control of the German authorities.
The seizure is the result of an investigation conducted by the Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office, the Saxony State Criminal Police Office and the tax investigation of the Leipzig II Tax Office as the Saxony Integrated Investigation Unit (INES).
The investigation was also supported by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the FBI and a Munich forensic IT expert company.
According to German media, one of the two operators was also involved in the operations of the site mega-downloads.net.
Movie2k was a platform involved in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted movies, TV shows, and other media content. It was operating between 2008 and 2013. In 2013, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) shut down the website due to concerns related to copyright infringement.
Widely favored among pirates, Movie2k provided an extensive array of content along with user-friendly streaming and download features. Additionally, the website fostered a substantial community of users who actively shared links to pirated content.”
The investigation conducted by the German authorities led to the identification of two operators of the popular platform, a 40-year-old German national and a Polish 37-year-old.
The duo purchased a substantial amount of Bitcoin with the proceeds obtained from subscriptions and advertising through the platform.
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