EUROPE’S top illegal football streaming kingpin has been fined millions and sentenced to 23 months in jail after police smashed his Spanish base of operations, a court ruling has revealed.
The suspect, dubbed ‘Dash, the Iranian’, was found guilty of running a vast international piracy network serving roughly two million users with illegal sports and entertainment streams, according to a report by The Athletic.
Operating primarily out of Spain, he funnelled huge profits through high-end property deals and cryptocurrency transactions in a bid to disguise the money trail.
Investigators estimate the network generated more than €15 million between 2015 and 2020 – but in a landmark court judgement earlier this month, Spain’s Criminal Chamber of the National Court ordered the ringleader to pay a total of nearly €20 million in fines and damages.
The Iranian accepted all charges alongside four co-defendants in exchange for reduced sentences.
The case centred on coordinated raids across 15 sites in four countries (Spain, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark) in June 2020 – including a €1.8 million Barcelona apartment.
The raids revealed a lavish lifestyle, with police seizing two high-end Mercedes cars, four Rolex watches worth about €55,000 combined, and bundles of €100 notes stashed beneath mattresses.
Investigators say the operation was part of a sprawling IPTV empire pumping out around 40,000 illegal channels, with servers scattered across more than a dozen countries to dodge shutdowns and enforcement action.
The business was made up of a network of ‘franchises’ selling access to illegal streams, authorities have said.
The groups used advanced technique to keep copying and rebroadcasting live football matches, including Premier League and Champions League games.
Using proceeds from the business, the Iranian reportedly built a €4 million apartment complex in Tehran.
The case formed part of a broader Europe-wide crackdown involving Europol and LaLiga, aimed at dismantling organised piracy groups targeting live sport and undermining broadcasting revenues.
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