With a collective figure of around £1.4 million amassed in illegal revenue, three recent cases pursued by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) as the economic cost of illegal streaming receives renewed attention.
In August 2026, a Lancashire-based operator received a six-and-a-half-year custodial sentence following a police investigation into an illegal streaming service first identified by FACT. Milan Ibrahim, 68, generated almost £1 million over three years by selling illegal TV streams to customers in the UK and overseas, including British expatriate audiences.
FACT referred the service to the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) of The City of London Police, enabling the matter to progress from intelligence development to enforcement action. The investigation led to the seizure and shutdown of 80 streaming servers in Chorley. The operation had unlawfully redistributed content owned by broadcasters and rights holders including the BBC, ITV, Sky and the Premier League.
A second August case involved a Merseyside-based operator who received a 32-month sentence, suspended for three years, after generating £205,000 through the sale of unauthorised premium TV subscriptions at discounted rates.
FACT opened its investigation into the illegal streaming service in January 2023 and identified Craig Austin, 38, of Whiston, as the individual behind the operation. Austin had operated the service for more than five years and promoted it through a social media account. Following FACT’s referral to Merseyside Police in April 2025, officers executed a warrant four months later. Austin pleaded guilty to fraud-related offences and possession of criminal property, and in addition to the suspended sentence was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and rehabilitation activities.
In South Wales, Michael Barrow was sentenced to three years and two months in custody at Swansea Crown Court on 1 June after pleading guilty to three fraud offences. Barrow continued supplying illegal IPTV subscriptions and pre-loaded Firesticks after receiving a cease-and-desist notice in 2021, reaching almost 2,000 customers and generating more than £200,000. The prosecution was brought by the Premier League and supported by FACT and the TARIAN Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Economic Crime Team.
The cases demonstrate how FACT’s investigative work can move from intelligence-gathering to action by police and the courts. Commenting on the Austin case, FACT Investigations Manager Nick Sumner said it showed how “intelligence-led investigations and close cooperation with law enforcement”
Additional cases
Across the UK and Ireland, FACT’s investigators and analysts, backed by an in-house digital forensics team, identify and develop intelligence for investigative work to disrupt the people and organised crime groups operating illegal services. They piece together how their operations work by utilising OSINT, HUMINT, digital trails, payments and devices. FACT teams build evidence that can drive police action, prosecutions or enforcement for clients whose content is being illegally distributed.
Prison sentences have not been the only penalty to follow recent cases involving FACT. A string of summer FACT prosecutions in Staffordshire and Wales saw pub licensees ordered to pay a combined sum of more than £29,000 in fines and costs for dishonest broadcasting of Sky Sports.
Other recent investigations have led to arrests. On 25 and 26 June, four men were arrested in Merseyside after ongoing intelligence-sharing and partnership work between FACT and Merseyside Police. Six search warrants were executed during the two-day operation, which centered on the suspected supply of illegal streaming services to thousands of customers.
Meanwhile, recent action in Ireland has taken a different form as FACT and Sky served legal warnings on 10 suspected illegal IPTV sellers across seven counties. Joint investigations identified the individuals behind services believed to have supplied thousands of people with unauthorised access to premium TV, films and live sport.
Those targeted across Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Galway, Laois and Limerick were issued cease-and-desist notices as part of a campaign that also warned customers purchasing pirate services that their details may be identified and passed to
Why it matters
From identifying illegal streaming operations and supporting law enforcement action to helping bring offenders before the courts, work by FACT exposed around £1.4 million in criminal revenue, alongside further activity that contributed to sentencing outcomes which included fines, arrests and cease-and-desist action.
Research from WPI Economics, commissioned by the UK copyright advocate BeStreamWise, estimated that piracy across sport, film and television costs the UK economy at least £1.35 billion in lost revenue each year, equivalent to 10,400 fewer jobs. It also said that the losses result in reduced investment in new content and the wider creative economy.
Further reading
Summer enforcement outcomes highlght FACT’s role in tackling illegal streaming. Press release. September 22, 2026. Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT)
