Ravi, A professional graphic designer, focused on setting up his piracy website iBomma, then built a revenue-generation network, and finally expanded into multiple illegal activities: Additional commissioner (crimes) and SIT chief M. Srinivasulu
HYDERABAD: Additional commissioner (crimes) and SIT chief M. Srinivasulu on Tuesday explained the methods used by movie piracy kingpin Immadi Ravi, who operated illegal movie streaming platforms and generated illegal revenue.
Addressing media persons, Srinivasulu said Ravi, a professional graphic designer, focused on setting up his piracy website iBomma, then built a revenue-generation network, and finally expanded into multiple illegal activities.
Ravi created and ran the pirate streaming site by registering the domain iBomma.com using his personal email ID and credit/debit cards, but under the guise of a fake company named Enjala. This allowed him to maintain full control over the domain, its piracy operations, its financial routes, and a network of multilayered mirror websites, Srinivasulu said.
Ravi hosted the website through a separate company, IP Volume, using various servers, and managed iBomma with a Content Management System (CMS) to control when content was uploaded, removed, or monetised. The CMS also allowed him to schedule advertisements based on demand and viewership.
Ravi, along with his associate Nikhil, created movie posters, generated streaming and download links, and uploaded them to the site. Once uploaded, the pirated content became instantly accessible to lakhs of viewers, the additional commissioner said.
According to Srinivasulu, Ravi’s major income did not come from movies themselves but from illegal betting app promotions. He used advanced software tools to divert viewers automatically. Whenever a user clicked on a link or visited the iBomma website, a redirect script pushed them to illegal gaming and betting websites. This forced viewers to watch advertisements of these apps, generating lakhs of rupees in revenue.
Ravi later partnered with advertising companies such as Addcash and Adstera to route high-value financial transactions. The payments were collected in USDT cryptocurrency, which he then converted into Indian rupees and transferred into his accounts, Srinivasulu said.
His piracy operations and promotion of illegal betting and gaming apps caused financial losses worth crores to the film industry and tax losses to the government.
Ravi also committed data theft by prompting users to install malicious APK files. These files stole personal and banking data when users clicked “accept” on the terms and conditions. Ravi then sold the stolen data to cybercriminals and continued to profit from fraudulent activities, officials said. “We have substantial digital and technical evidence to prove Ravi’s complicity,” additional commissioner Srinivasulu added.
