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Technology

KickAssTorrents founder arrested after making legal iTunes purchase

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By John Glenday, Reporter

July 22, 2016 | 2 min read

The founder of the largest supposed illegal downloads site on the internet has been arrested after logging into iTunes to make a legal purchase.

KickAssTorrents had risen to become the single largest source of pirated films and TV shows on the web, superseding the likes of The Pirate Bay for downloads but that status now seems in doubt with the website currently offline and unlikely to return.

Artem Vaulin, a 30 year old Ukrainian, was arrested in Poland after making the mistake of using the same IP address to make an iTunes purchase as was used to log into the KAT Facebook page, giving investigators all the data they needed to nab their man.

A complex operation had already seen US officials pose as potential advertisers to obtain Vaulin’s bank account details with Apple assisting the inquiry by handing over Vaulin’s personal details when the critical purchase was made.

Vaulin has been charged with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of criminal copyright infringement and is already facing extradition to the US.

It is estimated that Vaulin stole as much as $1bn in lost profits from the US entertainment industry as a result of his actions.

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