The boss of the world's biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, was slapped with US criminal charges, accused of distributing over USD 1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content
The boss of the world's biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, was slapped with US criminal charges, accused of distributing over USD 1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.
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The Justice Department has lodged a criminal complaint against Ukrainian national Artem Vaulin, 30, who was arrested in Poland and is wanted by the US for copyright infringement, money laundering and other charges.
Kickass Torrents is one of the biggest source of pirated media which in recent years have eclipsed pirate bay.
The US criminal complaint said the website offers "a sophisticated and user-friendly environment in which its users are able to search for and locate content" which is protected by copyright.
Kickass torrents distributes films, video games, television programs, music and other electronic media.
It is estimated to be the 69th most frequently visited website on the internet.
"Vaulin is charged with running today's most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over USD 1 billion of copyrighted materials. In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits. His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that
cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice, said said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
Vaulin was arrested at Warsaw's Chopin airport on Wednesday 'during an attempt to enter Poland'.
US officials will seek to extradite Vaulin to face charges filed in a federal court in Chicago, which ordered the seizure of one bank account and seven domain names associated with the file-sharing website.
Kickass torrents has moved its domains several times after being blocked in Britain, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Malaysia, according to the complaint, and has relied on a network of computer servers located around the world, including in Chicago.
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