iBomma Ravi arrested: Hyderabad Police say the kingpin made Rs 20 crore from movie piracy

iBomma kingpin arrested: Hyderabad Police say Ravi made 20 crore from movie piracy

The long hunt for iBomma’s elusive operator ended this week when Hyderabad Police arrested Immadhi Ravi, the man accused of running one of India’s biggest piracy networks. Commissioner VC Sajjanar announced that investigators have already seized close to 3 crore from him, but the story runs far deeper. During questioning, Ravi admitted he earned nearly 20 crore through large-scale film piracy over the past few years.

Ravi’s operation wasn’t small-time tinkering in a back room. He handled roughly 35 bank accounts, spread out the money trail, and constantly shifted servers across the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The police are now examining the case through a money laundering lens, and banks linked to Ravi’s accounts are being approached for detailed records. Officers seized his phones, laptops, hard disks, pen drives and even old passbooks to map the network.

The arrest happened on November 14 in Hyderabad’s Kukatpally area. Until then, Ravi had been bold enough to openly challenge the police online. Investigators say he wasn’t just uploading Telugu films; he was distributing pirated content from multiple regional industries as well as OTT platforms on iBomma and Bappam TV.

Ravi grew up in Visakhapatnam and later renounced his Indian citizenship to become a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis. He lived in France and travelled widely, moving between the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, the US and Dubai. With a background in computer science, he launched iBomma in 2019 and built a massive digital maze. Whenever officials blocked one domain, he simply switched to another. At his peak, he controlled 110 domain names and ran nearly 65 mirror sites.

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According to Sajjanar, Ravi used secret cameras to record new releases and employed advanced tech to upload these films online on the same day they hit theatres. Titles like Mirai, Dude, Kantara Chapter 1 and OG ended up on his platforms within hours of release. He also captured OTT content through screen recording and even tried sending malware to film industry professionals to steal data. Telegram channels formed another layer of his distribution network.

The Cybercrime Wing has booked him under multiple sections of the Copyright Act. Sajjanar warned that such piracy sites expose users to data theft, malware and online scams. He said Ravi also promoted betting apps like 1win, pushing scam-filled APK downloads that led to OTP fraud and digital arrest cases.

Senior Telugu stars Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna, along with SS Rajamouli, Suresh Babu and Dil Raju, were present when the police briefed the media about the case.