Three operators of illegal movie app 'phimne' arrested in Hanoi

Hanoi police have arrested and charged three men for allegedly operating illegal movie streaming platforms that attracted tens of thousands of users and caused significant financial damage. Trần Đình Quý, 29, Hà Xuân Sáng, 29, and Vũ Huy Hoàng, 23, face charges of infringing copyright and related rights.

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The application integrated links to movie sources on the internet to illegally broadcast many films belonging to the rights of the Japan Content Distribution Association and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Quý and Sáng, both IT graduates, reportedly developed the "phimne.app" for Android TV. This application illegally streamed movies from various internet sources, including content owned by the Japan Content Distribution Association and the Motion Picture Association of America. They allegedly implemented a subscription model, offering 15 minutes of free viewing before requiring payment, and used a private management system with servers in Vietnam and Malaysia to maintain operations.

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From 2025 to April 2026, through 6,451 user payments, Quý and Sáng illegally profited nearly 415 million Vietnamese dong.

From 2025 to April 2026, Quý and Sáng are accused of earning nearly 415 million Vietnamese dong through user payments. A law firm representing the Japan Content Distribution Association confirmed that their actions caused over 9.08 billion Vietnamese dong in damages to TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd.

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The actions of Sáng and Quý caused damages of over 9.08 billion Vietnamese dong to TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Meanwhile, Hoàng, a final-year software engineering student, allegedly created a multi-platform system called "phimne.live." This system included a website and applications for various devices, automatically sourcing film data from the internet and employing technical measures to conceal administrative information. Hoàng's system, operational since June 2025, reportedly attracted over 1,090 registered members and more than 90,000 visits. It illegally streamed content from the Japan Content Distribution Association, the Motion Picture Association of America, Beta Media, and numerous Vietnamese films. Notably, the film "Mưa đỏ" (Red Rain) by the People's Army Cinema suffered an estimated 3 billion Vietnamese dong in damages due to unauthorized streaming.

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Hoàng used source code to automatically retrieve film data from websites on the internet, while also applying many technical solutions to conceal administrative information.