7 arrested in Vietnam for operating large anime piracy site HiAnime

Vietnamese authorities have arrested seven individuals suspected of operating HiAnime, a major anime streaming service that was shut down in June. The suspects are being prosecuted for copyright infringement and money laundering, as reported by Bleeping Computer.

HiAnime, which operated under various domains including Zoro.to and Aniwatch, provided free access to a vast library of anime, attracting hundreds of millions of monthly visitors and briefly surpassing legal streaming platforms in web traffic. The platform was added to the European Commission's Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List and the U.S. Trade Representative's Notorious Markets list. The seven defendants are accused of operating over 100 websites and uploading more than 26,000 pirated anime films, generating approximately $12.85 million in illegal advertising revenue between 2020 and April 2026.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of major media companies, confirmed the law enforcement action and thanked Vietnamese and U.S. authorities for their support in the multi-year investigation. This action follows ACE's earlier success in shutting down another major anime streaming platform, AnimePlay, in March.

Source: Bleeping Computer