Two men have been remanded in custody in Greece on suspicion of illegally retransmitting subscription-only TV channels, earning them millions of euros.
A further eight were released under restrictions on their movement, pending the results of an investigation into allegations of organised crime, copyright infringements, and money laundering.
Of the 10, nine are Greek citizens and one is a foreigner, prosecutors said late on Monday. They were arrested at the end of September.
Greek police say that for the past eight years, the gang of 10 used illegal software and specialised decoders to create a customer base of some 13,000 people. They earned some 25 million euros.
Police estimate the loss to TV platforms such as Cosmote, Nova and Vodafone at roughly 100 million euros.
The 10 are suspected of creating their own platform through which they sold their services, including access to a video-on-demand library of movies and TV series, but paid no copyright fees.
They were paid in cash, through digital banks based abroad, or by transfer into their own bank accounts or accounts of relatives, police say. They then laundered the proceeds through real estate purchases and business ventures.
Source : Balkan Insight
