At the request of the Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, Tirana, citizens F.Ç., AS, and E.Xh. were found guilty, accused of the criminal offense of "Computer Fraud" provided for by articles 143/b, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
The investigations into criminal proceedings no. 6847, of 2023, began after the Digitalb company reported that various entities operating on social networks were selling television packages of this company, deceiving that they had television rights and creating income at the expense of television companies.
From the investigations, carried out and with simulated actions of purchases of decoder equipment, the prosecution identified the entities that carried out this activity. More specifically, the entity 'FRA SYSTEM IPTV' owned by citizen F.Ç., which sold the package for 79 euros. Likewise, the Prosecution Office at the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction, Tirana, also identified the entity Elektronika Shop owned by citizen E. Xh., which operated through the social networks Facebook by selling packages worth 4000 lek and the equipment came through private mail couriers. In these investigations, the entity 4k server (Kanale.al), owned by citizen AS, which sold through the social network "Instagram", was also discovered.
The defendants had installed applications on electronic devices that they distributed to third parties that enabled the opening and viewing of private television channels from platforms such as Digitalb, Tring and other international packages, without having a license or permission from the legal operators that own the rights to these broadcasts.
This conduct constitutes interference with the functioning of computer systems and data transmission networks, since data that is only allowed for licensed users has been obtained and distributed illegally, presenting it as data accessible by unauthorized users, through computer fraud. Encrypted television data is part of a protected computer system, and interference to bypass access control systems constitutes illegal activity falling within the meaning of Article 143/b.
The investigation proved that the defendants' activities included interference in the computer systems of licensed operators and the acquisition of data belonging to them, distributing them to third-party users in a fraudulent and illegal manner. This activity was undertaken with the aim of securing personal economic gain, avoiding licensing, contracting and payment of financial obligations to entities that provide the service legally. The actions were carried out with direct intent and with the aim of material gain.
In conclusion, from all the evidence collected, it results that the defendants have fully consumed the elements of the criminal offense "Computer Fraud" provided for by Article 143/b, paragraph 1 and were found guilty of this offense and sentenced to nine months in prison each.
