In a joint effort with Europol, the General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP), a specialized unit within Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior, has announced the closure of twelve music piracy websites. Coordinated by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Sofia, the operation falls under EMPACT, the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats.
Despite pressure from the United States, including criticism within reports on notorious pirate sites and foreign trade barriers, Bulgaria has seen relatively few actions against online piracy. Amendments made to Bulgaria’s Criminal Code in August 2023 may facilitate pirate site investigations, with hopes that a new operation targeting music piracy will showcase progress.
GDBOP, known for its work in disrupting organized crime groups and transnational criminal networks, conducted the operation with supervision from the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office and in collaboration with Europol. According to a statement from GDBOP, the Cybercrime Directorate identified the owners of twelve sites that provided access to copyrighted music for download in .mp3 format.
The targeted domains, which are now seized and display a seizure banner in Bulgarian, include downloadmp3bg.com, baixarmp3gratis.com, www.tekstove.org, mp3pesme.com, mp3piosenki.com, descarca-muzica.com, indirsarki.com, mp3kostenlos.com, mp3hitove.com, mp3greek.gr, xn--3-wtbj.net, and mp3aghani.com. Many of these domains suggest an international audience, with terms in Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish, German, and Punycode, targeting various language-speaking populations.
The operation was conducted within the EMPACT framework, an initiative aimed at addressing organized and serious international crime. EMPACT involves law enforcement authorities, the judiciary, EU agencies, customs and tax offices, and private partners, with around 200 operational actions carried out annually. The specific reasons for targeting these twelve sites under EMPACT have not been disclosed, and while the operator has been identified, no arrests have been reported.