TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan's most popular piracy movie website, 8maple.ru (楓林網), was busted on Wednesday (April 8) in Taoyuan, while its two Taiwanese founders were nabbed, followed by the closure of several other piracy websites the same day.   

Media reported the illegal websites gimy.tv, pttplay, momovod, and 149mov.com had halted their services. It was believed this was due to police operations.

Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said 8maple.ru, the most-visited piracy movie site in the country, utilized offshore web hosting services to upload popular Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Chinese, European and American dramas, movies, and television programs. They were unlawfully obtained and infringed the intellectual property rights (IPRs) of others.

The bureau estimates damages for infringement of U.S. company IPRs amount to nearly NT$1 billion. 8maple.ru has been on the radar of police authorities in various countries, overshadowing Taiwan's efforts to combat cybercrime and safeguard IPRs.

Assisted by the U.S. Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, as well as the Motion Picture Association, Taiwan police were able to identify suspects and track illicit financial flows before the arrest. 

The two suspects, surnamed Chen and Chuang, 32, were both classmates and graduates of National Taiwan University. They established the site in 2014 and began providing illegally-obtained dramas and movies to users free of charge.

The website earned money from ad revenues, believed to be around NT$4 million every month. 8maple.ru is now closed.

Chen and Chuang were released on bail for NT$500,000 and NT$300,000, respectively. Police have frozen more than NT$60 million worth of property and cash from their illegal dealings.