The federal government said it seized three commercial U.S.-registered internet domains for websites operating in Bulgaria that allegedly illegally distributed thousands of copyrighted works.
The operation targeted online services that offered copyrighted TV shows, video games, movies and other content, the Justice Department said Friday. Much of the copyrighted material belongs to American companies, the agency said.
Tens of millions of visitors, mainly in Bulgaria, visit the three seized domains annually, resulting in millions of illegal downloads, and the estimated retail value of the stolen copyrighted works is “millions of dollars,” the department said.
“The three domains are among the most popular in Bulgaria — one is often ranked as one of the top 10 most visited domains in Bulgaria — and, given the huge internet traffic they receive every day, seem to make considerable money from advertisements,” the press release said.
The websites, now in custody of the government, are labeled with a banner notifying visitors of the seizure and warning that copyright infringement is a crime.
The seized domains are zamunda.net, arenabg.com and zelka.org. Bulgarian law enforcement and Europol assisted U.S. agencies in the investigation, the Justice Department said.
Recent international operations against piracy sites include a takedown of the Streameast sportscast platform, seizures of multiple videogame sites such as Nsw2u and an investigation that traced $55 million in cryptocurrency transactions related to digital piracy.
In July 2025, five men were sentenced in the U.S. for running the Jetflicks illegal TV streaming site.
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Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering digital privacy, surveillance technologies and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.
