WASHINGTON: A Ukrainian alleged to be the ringleader of the world's biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, was hit with US criminal charges Wednesday, accused of distributing over $1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.
The Justice Department unveiled a criminal complaint against Artem Vaulin, 30, of Kharkiv, Ukraine, who was arrested in Poland earlier in the day and is being sought by US authorities for copyright infringement, money laundering and other charges.
Vaulin is alleged to own Kickass Torrents or KAT, which in recent years has eclipsed Pirate Bay and others to become the world's biggest source of pirated media.
The 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.
KAT, which distributes films, video games , television programs, music and other electronic media, is estimated to be the 69th most frequently visited website on the internet , according to a Justice Department statement.
"Vaulin is charged with running today's most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over $1 billion of copyrighted materials," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
According to the Justice Department, KAT's website "purports to comply with the removal of copyrighted materials" but evidence showed it did not remove content requested by organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and Entertainment Software Association.
The move comes with US officials in a long battle to extradite the head of Megaupload, another major piracy site shuttered by the FBI in 2012.
According to the Justice Department, KAT's website "purports to comply with the removal of copyrighted materials" but evidence showed it did not remove content requested by organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and Entertainment Software Association.
The move comes with US officials in a long battle to extradite the head of Megaupload, another major piracy site shuttered by the FBI in 2012.
The head of Megaupload, known by the pseudonym Kim Dotcom, is free on bail in New Zealand pending the extradition effort, and recently vowed to revive his operations.
His extradition appeal is set to begin in the High Court in Auckland on August 29 and is expected to last four to eight weeks.
Pirate Bay meanwhile has been able to keep operating despite jail sentences handed down in Sweden against its founders, and the seizure of its web domains.
Authorities say they can seize or shut down illegal file-sharing sites but that the operators often reopen with servers in different jurisdictions.
conclude - Although kickass torrent came back with new domain name DXTORRENT after suspension of its main domain name.
So Start your business again.....
