Immadi Ravi arrested over iBomma piracy, betting links
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Cyber Crime police arrested Immadi Ravi, the man accused of running the iBomma and Bappam piracy networks, and named him in a charge sheet that links film piracy with large-scale promotion of illegal betting apps. Police told the court that Ravi created multiple traffic-diversion domains that steered users from piracy sites to betting platforms.
Investigators said Ravi had created about 17 domains connected to the iBomma and Bappam networks , including ibomma.foo, ibomma nexas, ibomma market, ibomma.one and Bappam variants such as bappam.tv, bappam.cc, bappam.co.in, bappam.net, bappam.org, bappam.eu and that technical evidence links all of them to a single operator. Police said the domains used the same IPs, e-mail addresses and mobile numbers.
Police told the court that the sites not only uploaded pirated films but also displayed pop-ups and redirects to betting apps (named in the probe as 1Win, 1xBet and similar platforms). Every user click on those links generated commission payments to Ravi, according to the remand report. Investigators said two special domains were registered specifically to promote betting apps one registered in Ameerpet, Hyderabad, and another registered overseas.
The remand report and police submissions said Ravi channelled proceeds from cryptocurrency wallets and foreign transfers into Indian bank accounts, including transfers to an ICICI NRO account in his name. Police estimate his illegal earnings at over ₹21 crore from piracy and associated activities; they have frozen funds found in some bank accounts and seized devices. The Enforcement Directorate has also taken interest in the case, authorities said.
Police told the court they found evidence of fake identity documents and benami accounts. Ravi is accused of obtaining a PAN in the name Prahlad Kumar (used to open bank accounts), and of buying citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis for ₹80 lakh, allegedly to evade detection and move funds abroad. Investigators say he frequently travelled overseas, holding meetings with associates and arranging server placements in countries such as France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the US.
The remand report recorded seizure of laptops, hard disks and other electronic devices at his Kukatpally residence, and said Ravi tried to destroy or delete incriminating data before the raid. Police say they tracked the domains’ traffic patterns and used that trail to link the piracy network with betting promotion and money flows to Ravi.
Ravi, who police say comes from a Visakhapatnam family and used multiple aliases and documents, was produced in court on bail and custody applications. Cyber Crime police asked for custody to interrogate him further and to recover more technical evidence; the court adjourned hearing till the next date. Police have recorded that some of Ravi’s accounts contain frozen balances (police froze about ₹3.5 crore from four accounts in their initial action), while ED actions and subsequent bank measures referenced larger sums under scrutiny.
Police said the operation exposed a sophisticated criminal setup that combined piracy distribution technology, domain-level traffic diversion and monetisation through illicit betting platforms and cryptocurrency transfers. Authorities have registered cases under the Information Technology Act, copyright and related penal provisions and told the court they will share evidence with the Enforcement Directorate for money laundering probes.
