allofmp3.com – police raid adds to illegal download site's woe
Legal action against allofmp3,com has been ongoing for over a year now – but now, more direct action has been taken against the illegal Russian music site, with a raid of its online voucher system base.
That base is in London – and one man is currently helping the local force with enquiries. He is said to be the European agent for allofmp3.com, responsible for advertising and selling vouchers through auction sites such as eBay and the website allofmp3vouchers.co.uk. The vouchers try to sidestep legal action against the site, offering indirect payment for tunes via a code on the voucher. The cash from the sales was then transferred to various offshore bank accounts – and allegedly, into the pockets of criminal gangs.
Online payment companies such as PayPal and major credit card companies including MasterCard and Visa have all withdrawn their payment facilities from allofmp3.com – leaving the voucher system as the only payment outlet.
BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said: “Allofmp3.com is an illegal download service and the decision by major credit cards and payment services no longer to support it amply demonstrates that fact. British music fans should beware of voucher schemes like this one that seek to prop up an illegal service that rips off artists.”
