According to TodoTV News (source linked below), an illegal online scheme operated between 2017 and 2021 which linked the proceeds from the pirate site controliptv.com.br with a money laundering system which was used to hide more than $13 million Reals (Equivalent to about US$2.5 million) in profits; which were used to buy four luxury vehicles whose ownership was also disguised.
Considered one of the largest lawsuits against digital piracy in the country, this case began in Phase 2 of Operation 404, led by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Security on November 5, 2020, when 25 search and confiscation orders were executed, blocking 252 websites and 65 illegal content streaming applications.
The technical investigation found that the domain controliptv.com.br was linked to an infrastructure that offered 10,000 films and many TV channels. The Judge in the case handed down a sentence of 6 years, 8 months and 26 days in prison, and payment of a fine equivalent to 25 days’ minimum wages for 5 people.
Beginning in 2019, Operation 404 has run through at least eight phases, and several additional supplementary anti-piracy law enforcement actions. A Web search that results in an HTTP “404” error code means that search target was “Not Found” – in this context, meaning that a pirate site is no longer in operation.
Why it matters
“This judicial decision marks a milestone in the fight against audiovisual piracy in Brazil. (The sentence) indicates a change in the criminal response to crimes of content piracy and their associated financial structures,” said Jorge Bacaloni, president of Alianza contra la Piratería Audiovisual (Alianza).
Further reading
Anti-piracy: 7 year sentence for audiovisual piracy in Brazil. January 26, 2026. TotalTV News
Operation 404 (articles about all announced phases of Operation 404, by Piracy Monitor)
