Hanoi Police in conjunction with global anti-piracy group Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has closed down what is being called the largest pirate streaming operation in the world. The takedown of the notorious Fmovies and other active piracy sites involved the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations unit and the U.S. Department of Justice International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program working with Vietnamese authorities. In 2023, Fmovies was ranked by Similarweb as the world’s 11th most popular website in the TV, Movies & Streaming category.

“The takedown of Fmovies is a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and chairman of ACE.

“With the leadership of ACE and the partnership of the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Municipal Police, we are countering criminal activity, defending the safety of audiences, reducing risks posed to tens of millions of consumers, and protecting the rights and livelihoods of creators,” Rivkin added.

In addition to Fmovies, the sting shuttered “dozens of its affiliated piracy sites,” according to Variety. “The  domain, which according to the ACE was ‘a notorious video hosting provider operated by the same suspects,’ was also taken down.”

Fmovies was launched in 2016, and by 2017 made it onto the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s list of “notorious markets,” according to ACE, noting that from January 2023 to June 2024, the illicit Hanoi-based operation and its associates drew more than 6.7 billion visits.

In a news release, ACE calls the syndicate “the largest piracy ring in the world,” with nearly 374 million monthly visits.

Deadline reports that Fmovies and its ancillary sites “featured recently released movies and TV shows, with easy streaming links and the tagline, ‘Just a better place for watching online movies for free!’”

The outfit fueled illicit trade for eight years as authorities put the pieces in place to pull the plug, a timeframe attributed to “the ‘increasingly complex’ nature of investigations, given the ‘means and methods available to targets’” to mask their identities and evade law enforcement, Deadline explains.

Related:
Studios Are Cracking Down on Some of the Internet’s Most Popular Pirating Sites, The Verge, 8/29/24
ACE Shuts Down Illicit Anime Streaming Website with Worldwide Viewership, ACE, 8/15/24
ACE Shutters Multiple U.S.-Based Illegal Streaming Services and Settles with Operators for Millions, ACE, 8/14/24