Piracy

Danish Pirate Ringleader Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison in Odense

By Bill Toulas / July 15, 2021

A 50-year old family man from Middelfart, Denmark, has received his sentence from the court in Odense today, and it’s four months in the cell. The man has been confirmed to be one of the ringleaders behind two large pirate services in the country, ‘NordicBits’ and ‘Asgaard.’ Both websites have been closed by the law enforcement authorities already, and there have been other arrests and convictions associated with them in the previous months.

The particular person was responsible for setting up the aforementioned websites, their payment solutions, and the customer service system. Alongside this illegal activity, he held a regular job in his hometown, Middelfart, and generally lived a serene family life without raising any suspicions.

When the Rights Alliance, Denmark’s leading anti-piracy organization, identified and reported several suspected ringleaders behind ‘NordicBits,’ the pirate site went offline and some of the involved persons were arrested and held in custody. The now-convicted family man wasn’t deterred by the developments and instead moved to ‘Asgaard.’ This didn’t last long, as the Rights Alliance and the Danish police conducted an investigation on the new platform and forced it to shut down voluntarily.

This is a clear indication that the man had no remorse for his illegal activities and won’t stop trying to build new pirate sites as long as he remains free. After all, the massive audience was still out there, looking for alternative options.

From the prosecution's side, Christian Raaholt Hahn offered a satisfactory statement, although they had asked for a sentence duration of six months. As such, they are currently considering an appeal but haven’t decided yet.

The Rights Alliance is also pleased, with its Director, Maria Fredenslund, stating the following:

With this case, SØIK shows an effective and focused effort. That is absolutely crucial when we see that backers behind closed services are trying to build new platforms from the ground up. By quickly cracking down on backers and platforms, we can keep the illegal market in check and thereby avoid a lot of violations in the future.

We would like the punishment to better reflect the extent of the perpetrator’s offenses on both the illegal services. Therefore, I am pleased that the prosecution will consider appealing the case with a view to six months’ imprisonment.



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