[Back to the takedown index](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns) # Kickass Torrents takedown July 2016, Piracy and IP Led by [Homeland Security Investigations](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/homeland-security-investigations) Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026 What was taken down? Domains seized. [See what happened](#what-happened) What happened to the people? Officials reported 1 apprehended. 1 apprehended named in the public record. Group accounted for: Likely complete [See people and accountability](#people) Did it stay down? Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. [See what happened afterward](#afterward) ## What happened DOJ/HSI/IRS-CI filed a criminal complaint, seized domains, and coordinated the arrest of alleged operator Artem Vaulin in Poland, disrupting the Kickass Torrents piracy site. **Date:** July 2016 **Target:** Kickass Torrents (KAT), piracy website **Activity:** Piracy and IP **Operational lead:** HSI **Partners** Policja, IRS-CI[[1]](#source-1) - [Polish Police](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/polish-police), arresting - [Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/internal-revenue-service-criminal-investigation), supporting **Jurisdiction:** Not established **Outcome:** Domains seized. **Status:** Completed **Legal mechanism:** Federal criminal complaint; domain seizure warrants; Polish arrest warrant. **Group accounted for:** Likely complete ### Infrastructure Domains seized, with no count in the record. | Identifier | Recorded as | Status | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Not published | Domain | Seized, United States | Not established[[1]](#source-1) | Domains and onion addresses are shown defanged. Where the record gives a count but no identifier, the count is shown in place of one. This list carries only what appears in the cited sources. ## People and accountability Named in the public record: 1 apprehended. Figures count individuals named in charging documents and official statements, each person once per outcome. People alleged to be involved but not publicly identified are not counted. Reported and named. Officials reported 1 apprehended. 1 apprehended named in the public record. The two figures come from different places and are never added together. Officials publish a headline total, and this index counts only the individuals it can name from the cited record. #### Artem Vaulin Administrator of Kickass Torrents. Current public status: Arrested. **Charging authority:** Not established in the public record **Main charges:** Not established in the public record **Case number:** Not established in the public record **Arresting authority:** Polish Police **Arrest location:** Poland **Extradition status:** Not established in the public record **Conviction or plea:** Not established in the public record **Sentence:** Not established in the public record **Segment:** Core operator **Sources:** [[1]](#source-1) **Full record:** [Everything indexed for Artem Vaulin](https://takedownindex.org/people/artem-vaulin) Group accounted for: Likely complete Alleged sole primary operator arrested in Poland. [See the organizations and roles behind this action](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/kickass-torrents-takedown/organizations) ## What happened afterward Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. ## Sources Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them. ### Official sources 1. [Artem Vaulin, administrator of Kickass Torrents website, arrested in Poland](https://takedownindex.org/sources/us-doj-artem-vaulin-administrator-of-kickass-torrents-website-arrested-in-poland) US DOJ, July 20, 2016, Source grade P1 Establishes the Kickass Torrents domain seizure and Vaulin's arrest in Poland. No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher. Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source\_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass. Research context ## How this entry was checked This entry came from a broader aggregation pass and has not been independently verified source by source. Its sources are graded no higher than P2 or S2, and most carry no address yet. Treat the figures as a research lead rather than a settled record. Source review: Extended pass, not yet verified Sources cited: 1 Research cutoff: August 20, 2026 Last reviewed August 21, 2026 See also [About the Internet Takedown Index](https://takedownindex.org/about) Related entries - [Welcome to Video seizure](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/welcome-to-video-seizure) - [Kingdom Market seizure](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/kingdom-market-seizure) - [CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com seizure](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/cfake-com-and-socfake-com-seizure) Report updates or corrections Help keep this record accurate. [Submit feedback](https://takedownindex.org/about#corrections-and-updates)