Optus (AU) Ordered to pay $13m for under-reporting porn charges - GoFuckYourself.com

killshot · 12-20-2004, 12:50 PM

Sorry if this has been posted already
Looks like quite a scam they had going...
Link

Optus gets $17m porn bill
Vanda Carson and Michael Sainsbury
December 18, 2004

TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Optus has been asked to pay up to $US13 million ($17 million) in alleged unpaid commissions to its former business partner in the international porn trade.

Lawyers for the telco and Gibraltar-based porn merchant Gilsan were in the NSW Supreme Court this week to determine both parties' claims for payment.

The claims follow a sensational civil lawsuit in which Optus was outed as the middleman in the trade of internet porn from the Pacific island of Vanuatu to customers in the US and Europe.

The phone company was also shown to have hosted computers in its Australian data centres from which Gilsan served graphic sex photographs and videos directly to its mostly US and European customers.

This week Gilsan's lawyers argued Optus should pay Gilsan between $US9 million and $US13 million because they had successfully argued during the September trial that Optus had under-reported the number of minutes Gilsan's clients were on the phone to Vanuatu to get their porn in 2001.

Sources close to Optus say they believe it will have to pay substantially less than this.

Gilsan concedes it owes Optus $800,000 in rent for housing its computers in Optus's Australian data centres.

Optus got a cut of the $US4-a-minute call rate that customers paid to call Telecom Vanuatu.

NSW Supreme Court judge Robert McDougall, who decided the legal issues in November, has reserved his decision on pecuniary matters.

During the 14-day trial the court was told Gilsan's total revenues were over $US100 million, shared between Optus, US carrier AT&T and Greek carrier Pan Hellenic.

An Optus spokeswoman would not say how much the company made from the porn trade, nor how much money it was claiming from Gilsan.

Optus also declined to reveal how much it had earned from Gilsan as a customer or how much it had earned from other such customers.

However, the spokeswoman claimed the company's revenues from international "audiotex" traffic - which includes premium sex chat lines, horoscopes, and stock quotes - had decreased by more than 90 per cent since 2001.

12-20-2004, 12:50 PM	#1
killshot Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OGG / PDX Posts: 456	Optus (AU) Ordered to pay $13m for under-reporting porn charges Sorry if this has been posted already Looks like quite a scam they had going... Link Optus gets $17m porn bill Vanda Carson and Michael Sainsbury December 18, 2004 TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Optus has been asked to pay up to $US13 million ($17 million) in alleged unpaid commissions to its former business partner in the international porn trade. Lawyers for the telco and Gibraltar-based porn merchant Gilsan were in the NSW Supreme Court this week to determine both parties' claims for payment. The claims follow a sensational civil lawsuit in which Optus was outed as the middleman in the trade of internet porn from the Pacific island of Vanuatu to customers in the US and Europe. The phone company was also shown to have hosted computers in its Australian data centres from which Gilsan served graphic sex photographs and videos directly to its mostly US and European customers. This week Gilsan's lawyers argued Optus should pay Gilsan between $US9 million and $US13 million because they had successfully argued during the September trial that Optus had under-reported the number of minutes Gilsan's clients were on the phone to Vanuatu to get their porn in 2001. Sources close to Optus say they believe it will have to pay substantially less than this. Gilsan concedes it owes Optus $800,000 in rent for housing its computers in Optus's Australian data centres. Optus got a cut of the $US4-a-minute call rate that customers paid to call Telecom Vanuatu. NSW Supreme Court judge Robert McDougall, who decided the legal issues in November, has reserved his decision on pecuniary matters. During the 14-day trial the court was told Gilsan's total revenues were over $US100 million, shared between Optus, US carrier AT&T and Greek carrier Pan Hellenic. An Optus spokeswoman would not say how much the company made from the porn trade, nor how much money it was claiming from Gilsan. Optus also declined to reveal how much it had earned from Gilsan as a customer or how much it had earned from other such customers. However, the spokeswoman claimed the company's revenues from international "audiotex" traffic - which includes premium sex chat lines, horoscopes, and stock quotes - had decreased by more than 90 per cent since 2001. __________________