In a packed hall Court Thessaloniki was issued yesterday decision which is expected to set a precedent for Greek judicial annals.

A local defendant was sentenced to 8 years in prison and a fine of 17,000 euros, while it was decided to confiscate the seized equipment he used to commit his crimes.

The defendant, who for many years operated as a reseller of illegal pay-TV packages, was connected to a broader pyramid criminal organization, which obtained illegal profits of millions of euros and an illegal customer base of thousands of subscribers in Greece and abroad.

The sentence imposed was characterized by many as unprecedented for Greek standards, as the details revealed during the trial reveal the depth of the illegality in which the convicted was involved. The prosecutor, during his arraignment, emphasized that the extent and scope of the defendant’s illegal activities were unprecedented, with the illegal network reaching thousands of end-users-customers of pirated connections, who obtained illegal subscriptions to TV subscription packages. It may seem that the monthly amounts of 15 and 20 euros that they paid for these pirated subscriptions seem small, but cumulatively when the customer base is thousands of people, the numbers that were finally collected are staggering.

The hearing process kept the interest undiminished, with many citizens and court reporting journalists following the development of the case. The room was filled with surprise when the financial details were revealed: the convicted person had allegedly made millions of euros in illegal profits through the illegal pay-TV network. His multi-year operation, it was revealed, involved providing access to TV channels through illegal devices, which allowed users to bypass official charges and access programs without paying the legal subscription.

The implications of this case do not stop there. From the investigative data emerged the thousands of customers of the convicted person, who now face serious criminal and administrative penalties, as well as the imposition of fines for their participation in the illegal network. It should be noted that the judicial authorities have already proceeded to arrest and prosecute end users in the past period, while the investigations are ongoing.

Today’s decision, with the severity of the penalty and the seriousness of the revelations, sends a strong message to those who engage or intend to engage in illegal subscription piracy activities. This is a case that sets new standards in the field of dealing with digital crime in the country, with the judicial authorities confirming that there is no tolerance for those who profit from illegal practices.