On the third day of interrogation on Saturday, investigators questioned iBomma piracy kingpin Immadi Ravi about the assets he purchased abroad using illegal income generated from betting apps over the past seven years.
Ravi, currently in police custody, reportedly revealed that he operated a large movie-piracy network through a team of 25 technical experts in India and overseas.
This team had developed a specialised software capable of multiplying and cloning mirror websites linked to iBomma and iBomma-One.
According to sources, part of the operation was run from a “war house” set up in an office near his residence in the Caribbean Islands.
Police recorded Ravi’s statement on video in the presence of his counsel and asked him to provide written details; names and contact numbers of his betting-app sponsors, associates, technical teams, agents, and managers.
Investigators already had partial information on his network but insisted he disclose everything, warning him that withholding details would amount to misleading the investigation.
Officials also questioned him about the software tools used, how the gang managed to stream pre-release movies, the sources supplying those films, and the overall modus operandi.
During questioning, Ravi reportedly identified individuals responsible for leaking movies to iBomma.
He also named a piracy-linked website called “Movie Rules”, which handles transactions worth crores.
While tracking his international financial trail, investigators discovered that large sums were routed through Movie Rules using cryptocurrency, with the iBomma platform acting as a gateway to illegal betting apps.
Ravi is said to have confessed that he bought pirated films using money earned from promoting betting apps across multiple layered websites.
Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CID, running a parallel probe, has collected extensive national and international transaction data related to Ravi’s activities.
Their investigation revealed that Ravi operated or promoted four additional piracy websites and four illegal betting apps consistently over seven years.
