Ukrainian police on Tuesday shut down the former Soviet republic`s most popular file sharing website, Ex.ua, accusing its owners of illegally distributing copyright-protected software, music and videos, according to Reuters.
The move, which followed a crackdown by the United States on a similar but much larger website Megaupload earlier this month, was a result of complaints by software companies such as Microsoft and Adobe, police said.
"During a search at the website (owners`) office and data centres, police confiscated numerous computers... including 200 servers containing about 6,000 terabytes of information in total," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"Police have found out that the website was run by a citizen of Latvia."
The ministry said 16 people who had worked at Ex.ua`s office were being questioned but did not say how many people, if any, had been detained.
Under Ukrainian laws, the website`s owners could face up to five years in prison if found guilty, it said.
Ex.ua`s users numbered in the millions, according to police. Most users logged on from within Ukraine.
