Spanish Police Seize €400K in Crypto from Illegal Manga Piracy Platform, 3 Arrested

Gate News message, April 24 — Spanish police in Almería seized two cryptocurrency cold wallets containing approximately €400,000 during a raid on the country’s largest illegal manga distribution platform. Three individuals were arrested in connection with the operation, which was initiated following complaints from intellectual property rights holders in mid-2025.

The platform had operated for approximately a decade, providing free access to pirated Japanese and Korean comics and graphic novels while generating around €4 million annually, primarily through advertising revenue. According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, the illegal site generated over one billion views in November 2024 alone through multiple domain names.

The two crypto cold wallets were discovered hidden inside wall thermometers at the headquarters. While Spanish authorities have not officially named the platform, reports indicate it may be Tu Manga Online (TMO), which recently went offline following legal pressure from Korean copyright enforcement agencies and anti-piracy firms. It remains unclear whether authorities have successfully accessed the cryptocurrency stored on the seized wallets.