Illegal IPTV network leader Dash the Iranian sentenced in Spain to €8.7 million fine and 23 months in prison

The conviction follows an investigation that lasted for years.

Known as Dash the Iranian (his real identity has not been disclosed), this hacker has now been sentenced in Spain. The leader of an illegal IPTV streaming network received a fine of €8.7 million and a 23-month prison sentence following an eight-year investigation, The New York Times reports.

Illegal IPTV network leader sentenced in Spain

Over the years, the man had amassed substantial wealth. Investigators found that he had bought Rolex watches, sports cars and luxury property.

Spain’s National Court criminal division found that he supplied thousands of pirated sports and entertainment sites to 2 million people, including the well-known IPTVStack and RapidIPTV platforms. Illustrating the scale of its success, the organisation is said to have generated no less than $17 million between 2015 and 2020.

Money laundering and international operation

Working with four accomplices, he made extensive use of false identities to open financial accounts, laundering revenue earned through property schemes and various cryptocurrency transactions. The investigation recovered no fewer than 1,000 bitcoins, while the man maintained close connections with his native Iran, according to the American newspaper.

The international empire built by the convicted individuals, who pleaded guilty, is reflected in the scale of the operation against them: 15 searches were carried out and eleven people were arrested across four countries - Spain, Germany, Sweden and Denmark.

A genuine “business”

More specifically, the technical side of the streaming operation was run from Iran. A team there was responsible for capturing legitimate feeds, decrypting them and redistributing them through a vast network of servers spread across ten countries. The financial and commercial division, meanwhile, operated from Spain, setting up shell companies through which the money was moved. The organisation was also structured as a franchise, allowing third-party resellers to run and profit from their own IPTV services using the main network.

A victory welcomed by rights holders

As might be expected, the authorities and rights holders have welcomed the outcome. La Liga president Javier Tebas described the fraud as a “scourge that threatens the survival of a sector fundamental to the European economy”. He concluded that “piracy must be fought vigorously at every level, particularly against the organisations and mafias that support it”.

José Luis Gómez Pidal, chief inspector with Spain’s National Police, said the convictions represented a “historic decision against one of the largest international criminal organisations specialising in audiovisual piracy”.

Presse-citron’s view:

This conviction demonstrates the level of sophistication reached by these illegal IPTV networks. They use every means at their disposal and operate like modern companies, with technical and financial departments.