Chorley man jailed over £1m illegal streaming operation

A Chorley man has been jailed after making almost £1m through the global sale of illegal streaming services.

Milan Ibrahim, 68, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for running a 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 TV streaming 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.

Speaking after the trial, Investigation Officer Emma Slater, 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.”

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

Stefan Sergot, director of legal-enforcement at the 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.”