UK Man Imprisoned for Operating $1.3 Million IPTV Piracy Ring

£980,812 ($1.3 million) over three years — that is the amount a 68-year-old in the U.K. generated by running an illegal IPTV service that sold pirated broadcasts from major rights holders, according to investigators.

Milan Ibrahim and the operation

The City of London Police announced that Milan Ibrahim has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after an investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) found he ran a "sophisticated operation" providing illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) services to users in the U.K. and abroad. Authorities say the service sold illegal broadcasts from rights holders including the BBC, ITV, Sky, the Premier League and the Motion Picture Association.

PIPCU investigation and enforcement action

PIPCU led the probe and, during enforcement activity, located and seized the infrastructure supporting the service. The City of London Police said: “The investigation revealed that the business operated on 80 servers from premises in Chorley and generated £980,812 over a three-year period.” All 80 servers were seized and shut down, a step the police described as significantly disrupting the operation’s ability to provide illegal streaming services.

Servers seized in Chorley and downstream consequences

The seizure of servers from the Chorley premises not only interrupted streams being delivered to users, but the police said the equipment taken may allow investigators to identify subscribers who used the service. The City of London Police noted that those identified users “could pay fines or face other ramifications for funding and participating in copyright infringement activities.”

Rights holders and industry response

Stefan Sergot, Director of Legal Enforcement at the Premier League, called the law enforcement operation “significant,” and characterized the seized IPTV service as “one of the UK’s most prominent and long-standing suppliers of pirate services.” The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) participated in the action; BleepingComputer reported it had contacted FACT and PIPCU for further information and would update the story if responses were received.

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings and company records

Beyond criminal sentencing, the police said Ibrahim will face Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings aimed at recovering the money generated by the service. U.K. government records show Ibrahim was a director of CTU Systems, a now-dissolved company that marketed IPTV software, but authorities have not identified CTU Systems as being connected to the illegal service prosecuted in this case.

What this means for end users, the Premier League, and law enforcement

• End users: The seizure creates a tangible risk that subscribers to the service will be identified from seized server data and may face fines or other legal consequences tied to copyright infringement.
• The Premier League and other rights holders: The Premier League framed the operation as significant and long-standing, underscoring the commercial scale of piracy targeted by enforcement and the continued use of coordinated legal and investigative action.
• Law enforcement (PIPCU and City of London Police): The action demonstrates the use of physical seizures of server infrastructure and follow-on financial recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act as part of an enforcement strategy against large-scale piracy operations.

The case ties together a lengthy criminal sentence, large-scale seizures of infrastructure, and the prospect of financial recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It also leaves an open, practical question: whether the seized servers will produce evidence used to pursue subscribers and how far authorities will go in recovering the nearly £1 million in alleged proceeds. BleepingComputer reported it had reached out to FACT and PIPCU for further comment and would update its coverage with any responses.

Source: BleepingComputer — 68-year-old imprisoned after making $1.3 million by pirating IPTV services