A Swedish man has been ordered to pay SEK12 million (€1.38 million) in damages to four pay-TV companies after been founding guilty of possession of pirate TV decoders.
The 43-year-old from Norrköping in the east of the country at one time had over 650 customers to the illegal service that pirated signals from Canal Digital, Viasat, Boxer and Com Hem.
The court was told the operation began in 2004 and was run jointly from the defendant’s own flat and that of a neighbour. The operation was built up over time, partnering with other pirate operations, and channeling funds through a bank account belonging to his mother.
He was discovered in 2008, when his flat was raided in connection with a separate case, and police noticed the high number of computers in the building.
The man only escaped jail because of the amount of time taken by police to process the case.
It is the second significant fine for TV piracy in recent weeks following a separate case where the defendant was fined SEK37 million.
