Sweden led the investigation against pirates offering fraudulent IPTV subscriptions, which led to a nice recovery.
IPTV piracy has become a fairly common way for many Internet users across the planet to be able to access pay TV channels for a small fee. But if putting a complete stop to these hacking operations may seem impossible for government authorities, it is still possible to hit them in the wallet. This is the option that Sweden apparently chose.
3.32 million euros to pay
In Sweden, the problem of IPTV piracy is also that of the Swedish Tax Agency. This, in fact, led “ between 2021 and 2023, […] investigations against those who sell illegal internet television services to consumers. »
Long-term work which first allowed him to identify some 200 resellers, of which 97 underwent more in-depth research. Which ultimately allowed him to trace the financial flows of 80 of them, and thus to establish the VAT that they would have had to pay if they had declared their activity (even if this is obviously impossible for a practice illegal). In total, the Swedish treasury is demanding 3.32 million euros.
Cryptocurrency income traced by authorities
How was this figure able to be established? Well, the Agency looked into the payments for these subscriptions, which were mostly made in bitcoins. However, these are all visible in the blockchain. She was therefore able to follow them until the moment they were converted into so-called fiat currencies (like the euro or the dollar), in a foreign bank account.
By obtaining the assistance of the authorities of the countries where these accounts were located, it was able to obtain the information necessary to establish the VAT adjustments. “ In total, the amount to be paid in tax amounts to more than 37,000,000 crowns [3,32 millions d’euros]. 17 investigations are still ongoing – it is very likely that the amount will increase by several million crowns » indicated the Agency.
Source : Torrentfreak
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