Plug pulled on popular video-sharing website
Officers from the police force’s electronic crimes squad yesterday arrested six people in connection to a popular Greek website that has been attracting millions of users seeking to illegally download films, music and video games. The six suspects, detained following raids in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa and Pella, are believed to have been founders or managers of the www.gamato.gr site, which has 850,000 registered members. All six face charges of violating intellectual property laws. Police, who have issued arrest warrants for another five suspects, said that countless illegal downloads had resulted in inestimable losses in revenue to firms supplying the products and in lost value-added tax. Greece ranks third in the European Union for online piracy, with a rate of 57 percent, after Bulgaria and Romania, which score 68 percent and 66 percent respectively.
