According to ACE, the FMovies empire was the\u00a0largest piracy ring in the world<\/a>, attracting more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024 alone. Charles Rivkin, MPA CEO and Chairman of ACE, described the dismantling of FMovies as \u201ca stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n The MPA\/ACE announcement late August contained praise for Vietnamese authorities but no official statement from them. Initial reports late August didn\u2019t provide details on any arrests either, but it later transpired that two people connected to FMovies had been detained.<\/p>\n After more than two months of silence, local authorities have now released additional information on the investigation and the two men previously arrested. They also confirm that a decision has been made to prosecute the case and both suspects.<\/p>\n Responding to allegations made by the Hollywood studios, the Economic Police Department, in coordination with departments of the Hanoi City Police, launched an investigation to confirm the suspects\u2019 identities and relevant background information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Police say that documents and other evidence was obtained to clarify the suspects\u2019 operational methods and to confirm their roles in the FMovies operation.<\/p>\n Hanoi City Police now confirm the following:<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Suspect 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Phan Thanh Cong, 34, is a resident of Mo Lao ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi.<\/p>\n He is described as the \u201cmastermind, leader, creator, operator, and manager\u201d of the \u201cFMovies website system\u201d which allegedly offered almost 50,000 films to the public, in many cases violating MPA members\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n Authorities also reveal that the suspect was \u201cadministratively disciplined for similar behavior\u201d in the past, but the offending was not described in detail.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Suspect 2:<\/strong>\u00a0Nguyen Tuan Anh, also 34 and a resident of Mo Lao ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi, is described as an accomplice\/assistant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s claimed he was responsible for illegally copying around 50,000 films and posting them to FMovies and its \u2018sister\u2019 websites. In many cases, this violated MPA members\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n According to local police, the offending began in 2016, with the suspects illegally earning \u201chundreds of thousands of US dollars\u201d before the operation was shut down in August 2024. The authorities claim that during questioning, both men confessed in full to all alleged crimes.<\/p>\n The Investigation Police Agency at Hanoi City Police says it has issued a decision to prosecute the case. Phan Thanh Cong and Nguyen Tuan Anh will be prosecuted for infringement of copyright and related rights under Clause 2, Section 225, Penal Code 2015. What that means for those arrested is currently unclear; the necessary details are yet to be released and almost everything turns on those details.<\/p>\n Section 225 relates to the unlawful copying and\/or distribution of infringing copies of audiovisual works, without obtaining permission from rightsholders, on a \u2018commercial scale\u2019. That term is not clearly defined. Instead, indications are given in terms of illegal profits, such as VND 50,000,000 (just under $US2,000) or damage to rightsholders of VND 100,000,000 (just under US$4,000).<\/p>\n Profits of \u201chundreds of thousands of US dollars\u201d does seem to qualify but any predictions on how things might eventually play out would be pure guesswork at this stage and most likely unhelpful.<\/p>\n The framework of penalties is complicated and varies according to the scale and nature of the offending, which isn\u2019t straightforward either. Fines seeem to vary from VND 50,000,000 (just under US$2,000) to VND 300,000,000 (just under US$12,000) and a non-custodial sentence, up to VND 1,000,000,000 (just under US$395,000) and a custodial sentence of between six months and three years, depending on the presence of any specified aggravating factors.<\/p>\n Yet as Phan Thanh Cong apparently knows from experience, the authorities might prefer to impose administrative measures. We just don\u2019t know and the information being made available right now is simply insufficient. It\u2019s possible that MPA\/ACE have a clearer idea, but it\u2019s highly unlikely any public comments will be made during an ongoing prosecution.<\/p>\n What happens moving forward in this process is clearly very important to the United States and the studios in particular.<\/p>\n A police video released in connection with the news above skims the following letter. We had to stitch it back together to make it readable, but the sentiment is clear; the United States is very grateful for the assistance and at least thus far, satisfied with the direction of the relationship and the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nAuthorities in Vietnam Break Silence<\/h2>\n
The Investigation and Identification of Suspects<\/h2>\n
![\"stranger-things\"](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/stranger-things.png.webp)
<\/picture><\/center> <\/p>\n![\"Nguyen](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/Nguyen-Tuan-Anh.png.webp)
<\/picture><\/em><\/center> <\/p>\nOther Findings of the Investigation<\/h2>\n
Commercial Scale Offending?<\/h2>\n
Letter of Thanks Sent From U.S. to Vietnam<\/h2>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/torrentfreak.com\/images\/US-letter-to-VNv1.png.webp)
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\nSource: \u00a0<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"