7 Arrested Over World's Top Anime Piracy Site HiAnime

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has arrested seven people accused of running HiAnime, a piracy operation that police say became the world’s most visited illegal anime streaming service before it went dark in June.

Investigators from the ministry’s C03 economic crimes unit and A05 cybersecurity department worked the case for years (PDF) with help from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, and the anti-piracy coalition ACE, according to a statement ACE released Thursday.

Four of the seven suspects are now in custody, while the remaining three are under house arrest as the case moves through Vietnam’s legal system. Authorities have charged all seven with copyright infringement and money laundering, alleging the group built and ran more than 100 pirate streaming sites since 2020 and used them to host over 26,000 pirated anime films. Investigators estimate the operation pulled in roughly $12.85 million in advertising revenue over that stretch.

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