German authorities arrest couple for illegal streaming of Russian TV channels

German authorities have arrested a German-Ukrainian couple following an investigation into their illegal streaming of Russian TV channels, violating EU sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

‘The suspects are a 37-year-old German and his 42-year-old wife of Ukrainian nationality,’ Germany’s customs authority (‘Zoll’) said in a press release. It said the arrests were made on 26 September.

‘Both are said to have offered several sanctioned Russian TV channels to their customers via an IP-TV service since at least the beginning of 2022.’ The offer ‘presumably also included well-known channels’ such as Rossiya 1 and Russia Today, (‘RT’), Zoll said in a statement on its website.

Authorities believe the couple had been operating the service since early 2022, in defiance of sanctions imposed on Russian state-controlled media by the European Union.

During the raid, officials seized technical equipment, written evidence and €40,000 in cash. The couple’s domain, through which the illegal streaming service was accessed, was also confiscated. Additionally, the Karlsruhe District Court ordered the seizure of assets totaling €120,000, the alleged earnings from the operation.

The couple now faces charges under the Foreign Trade Act, with potential prison sentences of at least one year for conducting the illegal activity for commercial purposes. The Stuttgart Customs Investigation Office is continuing its investigation into the case.

https://www.zoll.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/Sonstiges/2024/y82_streaming_zfas.html