The alleged boss of the world’s biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, was hit with U.S. criminal charges accused of distributing over USD 1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content. Artem Vaulin, who was arrested in Poland, is wanted by the US for copyright infringement, money laundering and other charges. The website’s value is estimated at more than USD 54 million, with annual advertising revenue in the range of USD 12.5 million to USD 22.3 million, according to the complaint. The complaint said officials were able to track and identify Vaulin from records provided by Apple on his iCloud account. Vaulin is alleged to own Kickass Torrents or KAT, which in recent years has eclipsed Pirate Bay and others to become the world’s biggest source of pirated media.

Source: The Hindu July 21, 2016 12:21 UTC