A few days ago we told you the result of a police operation in Sweden that ended with the arrest of a married couple. He for operating a pirate IPTV service and she for unknowingly laundering the money.
Now we know the result of the sentence and it implies prison, at least for him.
“Best Nordic Pirate IPTV”
At the beginning of the month, the Swedish National Operations Department (NOA) closed an investigation initiated in 2020 with the arrest in Eskilstuna, a city 120 kilometers west of Stockholm, of a man in his 40s who, according to Rights Alliance, operated two different IPTV services, one of them under the name Nordens Bästa IPTV (Best Nordic IPTV). During the operation, some 93,000 euros in cash and a Tesla were seized.
His wife was also arrested, who denied any knowledge that her partner was an IPTV operator and said that, as far as she was concerned, he only repaired decoders. The problem for her is that, according to Rights Alliance, the proceeds were funneled to the woman from sales related to said IPTV service and as a result, she faced money laundering charges.
Specifically, according to the data provided by the authorities, between both pirate IPTV services, they generated about 2.3 million Swedish crowns (about 214,296 euros in exchange) and 1.3 million Swedish crowns (121,124 euros) were paid to the woman from service sales.
In addition to Nordens Bästa IPTV, information released by Rights Alliance this week indicates that the man also sold subscriptions to NorthTV and PlayTV, which together offered access to live TV channels, plus libraries of on-demand movies and TV shows.
six months in jail
This week the sentence in the case has finally been announced and we have learned that, for the time being, only he has been sentenced. The Swedish Patent and Market Court found the scale of the crime worthy of spending time behind bars, receiving a six-month prison sentence, which is a notable advance over some of the conditional and community sentences handed down in similar cases. During the past year.
“By accepting payments you have controlled which people have been supplied with the illegal services and by sending boxes you have made the films in question available. Therefore, he is convicted as a perpetrator,” says Rights Alliance. “The verdict shows once again that the people behind the illegal services cannot hide behind objections that they only did a minor part, such as sending boxes or answering customer questions. The investigation also shows how illegal services bring in large sums that go directly into the pockets of the perpetrators.”
While a prison sentence is significant, Rights Alliance and the police did not get everything they hoped for. The man and his wife were acquitted of money laundering charges after the court concluded that the evidence did not convincingly link the earnings to PlayTV and NorthTV.