Suspected TV pirates are required at SEK 137 million 

The network has its base in Norrköping and has, according to the prosecution at the Patent and Market Court, had thousands of customers. According to the feasibility study, for example, there were well over six thousand customers in a single month of 2016.

- It has been very organized with many people involved. There have been customers throughout the country, but mainly in Norrköping and Linköping, ”says Anna Ginner, Chamber Prosecutor at the National Unit against International and Organized Crime.

The suspicions apply partly to so-called cardsharing, where coded program cards from the TV operators are copied and partly to illegal transmission of streamed channels through so-called IPTV. The suspected crime covered by the prosecution occurred between June 2015 and June 2018, but the operation is believed to have lasted considerably longer.

- One of the principals has been convicted of similar crimes in the past. He has started up again right after the last verdict, says Anna Ginner, chamber prosecutor.

The prosecutor requests that more than SEK 4 million in estimated profits be forfeited from three of the accused men who refuse to commit crimes. However, the affected broadcasters - including Com Hem, C More and Canal Digital - require considerably larger sums, totaling SEK 137 million in damages. They are based on what customers have had to pay if they purchased the channels legally.

According to prosecutor Anna Ginner, clients could also have been found guilty of crimes, but no one will be prosecuted in this investigation because of limitation and lack of evidence.

The prosecution is welcomed by the TV companies' anti-piracy organization Nordic Content Protection, but notes that even though this network has been stopped, many more are active selling pirate subscriptions.

"It's such a lucrative business that attracts a certain category of people to set up servers to make money alongside," says Anders Braf, CEO of Nordic Content Protection.