Hanoi police shut down huge pirated movie website

On November 9, the Investigation Police Agency, Hanoi City Police Department issued a decision to prosecute the case and prosecute Phan Thanh Cong (born in 1990; in Mo Lao ward, Ha Dong district) and Nguyen Tuan Anh (born in 1990; in Mo Lao ward, Ha Dong district) for the act of infringing copyright and related rights as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 225, Penal Code.

Previously, the Economic Police Department, Hanoi City Police, took down a huge pirated movie website, with nearly 50,000 movies showing signs of copyright and related rights infringement.

After receiving the case of the website Fmovies attracting more than 6.7 billion visits in the first 6 months of 2024, violating copyright and related rights of cinematographic works of the Motion Picture Association of America - MPA, the Economic Police Department coordinated with units of the Hanoi City Police to investigate.

Through discussions with representatives of a number of security agencies and relevant agencies of the United States, it was determined that the Fmovies website system currently has nearly 50,000 films with signs of copyright and related rights infringement, including many films of the Motion Picture Association of America - MPA that are being protected; the Fmovies website system has a scale of illegally showing films of the Motion Picture Association of America - MPA to users worldwide...

The Economic Police Department coordinated with the city's police professional units to urgently deploy professional measures, determine information and background of the criminals, and collect documents and evidence to clarify the methods of operation, as well as the role of each subject.

The mastermind, leader, creator, operator, and manager of the Fmovies website system is Phan Thanh Cong, who has been administratively punished for similar crimes. Nguyen Tuan Anh played a supporting role, copying and illegally posting films of the Motion Picture Association of America - MPA on the Fmovies website and satellite sites.

The police agency clarified that from 2016 to August 2024, the subjects committed crimes, illegally earning hundreds of thousands of USD. At the investigation agency, the subjects confessed to all crimes.