Arrested Hyderabad Piracy Kingpin Tied to Betting Networks: Police

Nov 19, 2025 - The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have said that Immadi Ravi, the prime accused in a major movie piracy case, allegedly colluded with online betting platform operators and posed a direct threat to India’s financial stability and digital security.

Ravi was arrested in Hyderabad on November 15, 2025, and is currently lodged in Chanchalguda jail.

According to the remand report, Ravi collaborated with the operators of online gaming and betting platforms by diverting massive user traffic from piracy websites into their illegal networks.

The report noted, “By colluding with these networks, he not only facilitated large-scale financial exploitation of the public but also posed a direct threat to the financial stability and digital safety of the country.”

Traffic from the piracy platforms was routed through multiple intermediary domains and redirected to betting websites. There, over 3.7 million users were lured using promotional offers, bonuses and misleading advertisements that pushed them toward online betting activities.

Police added that Ravi created multiple websites under various domain extensions to evade arrest and maintain operations, despite repeated blocking attempts. A total of 17 domains used for hosting pirated content were found to be controlled by him.

Money Trail Under Investigation

Police are also investigating the financial trail behind the operation. The remand report said that “the illicit money trail from several cryptocurrency wallets to the accused’s NRE bank account still needs to be verified.”

Investigators revealed that Cloudflare hosting allowed the sites to provide high-quality, small-sized movie files that attract millions of users. Nearly 95% of piracy websites, including iBomma, rely on Cloudflare hosting, which shields them from takedown attempts and enables uninterrupted operation.

The availability of free, high-quality content significantly undermines legitimate viewership on theatres and authorised OTT platforms, police added.

During the probe, it was discovered that Ravi used two key domains:

• mekeindiashop.com, registered on July 16, 2025
• tradersin.com, registered in 2012

Both domains were owned by Ravi under his company ER Infotech. Whenever police blocked one domain, he shifted operations to the other.

The case was originally registered on August 30 based on a complaint filed by the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC). Earlier, in the same case, the police arrested Duddela Shivajee on September 24, whose bail plea was later rejected by the Nampally Court.

Meanwhile, the police have filed a petition seeking custody of Ravi. The Nampally Court is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis: TraceX Labs Raises Alarms

Digital threat intelligence firm TraceX Labs expressed serious concern over the findings. Analysts from the company said that the operation went far beyond simple movie piracy.

TraceX Labs said: “Such websites not only violate copyright but also generate massive traffic for betting networks and illegal payment channels, creating a parallel underground ecosystem. This is a serious digital security concern that needs to be addressed not only through technical measures but also through strong policy-level action.

Ravi’s Modus Operandi

• Colluding with online betting and gaming platforms
• Using Cloudflare hosting to evade takedown efforts
• Frequently changing domain extensions to bypass domain blocking

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