The man reportedly operated a web site intended primarily for foreign customers. He would send them their buys by mail after they had transferred appropriate sums of money to his e-account. In a bid to attract more customers, he is said to have made an arrangement with the owners of two other web sites, ranking among the world's largest CD and DVD online retailers.
In June 2004, the man was caught dispatching a shipment of pirate CDs. A total 17,000 pirate discs were found in his house during a subsequent search. Legal proceedings have now been launched against the suspect, charged with violating the copyright law.
Since the beginning of this year, the Russian Interior Ministry's Anti-High-Tech Crime Department has reportedly detected a total 230 offenses in the IT area.
