LaLiga claims record blow against audiovisual piracy

The case, opened years ago by Nagravision and supported by LaLiga, was later joined by multiple companies, such as Movistar Plus+, Mediapro, and Egeda.

The judgment sets compensation of €12m for the affected companies and more than €30m in fines for money laundering.

The illegal IPTV network, led by the well-known ‘Dash, the Iranian’, operated through channels such as rapidiptv.com, rapidiptv.net, and iptvstack.com, distributing football broadcasts, films, and series, including LaLiga content, to more than two million people from servers spread across 13 countries on three continents.

To launder that money, the organisation used payment gateways, cryptocurrency exchanges, shell companies, and false invoices.

Among the identified operations were the construction of a residential building in Iran, the purchase of a property in Barcelona valued at €1.7m, and the acquisition of two high-end vehicles for €400,000.

The agreement includes the confiscation of all seized assets and funds, as well as the permanent shutdown of the domains.

The investigation was carried out mainly by the Central Cybercrime Unit of the Directorate General of the Police, as well as by the Intellectual Property Group of the Central Unit for Specialized and Violent Crime (UDEV), with the support of Europol and Eurojust in international coordination.

Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga, said: “Audiovisual fraud is a scourge that threatens the survival of an industry that is fundamental to the European economy, namely live sport. We are proud of this exemplary sanction, which shows that piracy must be fought forcefully at every level, especially against the organisations and mafias behind it.”

Pay-TV broadcaster Canal+ recently won a landmark piracy case in the French courts. Discover more here.