German investigators shut down an illegal file-sharing site with around 27,000 members as part of a police sting targeting 42 suspects across Germany, the Frankfurt attorney general’s office said on Friday.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German investigators shut down an illegal file-sharing site with around 27,000 members as part of a police sting targeting 42 suspects across Germany, the Frankfurt attorney general&rsquo-s office said on Friday.
The file-sharing site, usenetrevolution.info, was used to share bootleg copies of movies, music, computer games and e-books, causing at least 2.9 million euros ($3.4 million) of financial damage to copyright owners.
State police and public prosecutors searched suspects&rsquo- homes in 13 of Germany&rsquo-s 16 states on Wednesday and Thursday, seizing computers and hard drives as evidence of the suspected illegal use of copyrighted material for commercial purposes, prosecutors said in a statement.
In the state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is based, the investigation is targeting a 49-year-old man suspected of having been an administrator of the illegal file-sharing site.
Other suspects are believed to have organized, or at least aided, operations of the site by acting as moderators or so-called &ldquo-uploaders&rdquo-, it said.
($1 = 0.8578 euros)
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