A man has been jailed after making almost £1 million through the sale of illegal IPTV services.

Milan Ibrahim, aged 68, of Chorley, has today (27^th August) been sentenced to 6.5 years’ imprisonment for running an illegal streaming business that generated £980,812 in criminal profits.

Ibrahim was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Preston Crown Court and will now face proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover funds obtained through the sale of illegal IPTV services.

The operation, led by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police, has disrupted thousands of illegal streams accessed across the UK through criminal enterprise.

PIPCU established that the sophisticated operation supplied illegal IPTV services to customers in the UK and overseas, particularly targeting British expats living abroad. Ibrahim unlawfully captured and redistributed television broadcasts from major rights holders, including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Premier League and the Motion Pictures Association. He then converted the content into formats suitable for IPTV streaming and sold subscriptions to customers around the world.

The investigation revealed that the business operated on 80 servers from premises in Chorley and generated £980,812 over a three-year period. During enforcement activity, all 80 servers were seized and shut down, significantly disrupting the operation’s ability to provide illegal streaming services.

The illegal enterprise generated substantial criminal profits while providing unauthorised access to copyrighted content, depriving rights holders, broadcasters and content creators of legitimate revenue.

Detective Inspector Emma Warbey, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police, said: “It is important that PIPCU pursues criminals who seek to profit from the supply of illegal IPTV services. These offenders show complete disregard for rights holders and the actors, creative artists, technical specialists and support staff involved in producing the content they unlawfully distribute.

“Illegal IPTV is not a victimless crime. The financial harm caused by these services impacts the entire creative industry.

“PIPCU will continue to pursue those involved in the provision of illegal IPTV services, both in the UK and internationally. We work closely with industry partners and law enforcement agencies around the world to identify, disrupt and prosecute offenders.”

Nick Sumner, Investigations Manager at Federation Against Counterfeit Trade (FACT) said: “Today’s sentence holds Milan Ibrahim to account for selling unlawful access to premium television content. Illegal streaming services undermine the broadcasters and rights holders that invest in creating and distributing that content. Having identified the illegal service, FACT referred it to PIPCU for investigation. This outcome sends a clear message: running an illegal streaming service is a criminal offence with serious consequences.”

Matt Hibbert, Group Director Anti-Piracy at Sky said: “This case highlights the persistence, dedication and close collaboration required to tackle sophisticated criminal IPTV operations. We commend the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit and all partners involved for their commitment to bringing this offender to justice.

“Illegal streaming services cause harm to consumers and profit from content in which broadcasters, rights holders and creators invest heavily. Sky will continue working with partners to disrupt piracy, protect consumers and safeguard the content our customers love.”

Stefan Sergot, Director of Legal at Premier League said: “This is a significant outcome against one of the UK’s most prominent and long-standing suppliers of pirate services. Milan Ibrahim repeatedly sold content belonging to the Premier League and other rights holders for his own financial gain. His sentence reflects the seriousness of his offending and sends a clear message that those who profit from piracy will ultimately be held accountable.

“We are extremely grateful to PIPCU and FACT for their determination and expertise in bringing him to justice. We will continue working with our partners to disrupt illegal services and pursue those responsible for them.”

Diane Hamer, BBC Studios Head of Business & Legal Affairs, IP Protection said:  “We thank PIPCU for pursuing this case so diligently. Piracy is not a victimless crime. Those responsible contribute nothing to the creation or broadcast of television programmes.  Their actions not only deprive the UK’s creative industries of vital revenue, impacting creators, businesses, and professionals who rely on the protection of intellectual property rights, but also impacts licence fee payers. This conviction sends a clear message that such activity has real consequences.”