They have not sold the items, the article was just using that to illustrate the cost of the losses. They would get banned if they sold em
EVE Online is an odd game. Described largely as 'the afk game', for the amount of autopiloting in it, it includes some unique features. Space is divided into the area with cops (like UO towns, do anything and they own you) and the area without. In the area without, is all the good minerals. Corporations typically claim entire strings of systems, strip mining them regularly to get money and materials for their construction facilities. After the recent free addon, they can also build their own star bases with defence turrets and factories and so on. In this unpatrolled space, there are alliances of corporations that engage in wars for systems, including jumpgate battles with over a hundred ships a side. I've got a map of the EVE world somewhere, showing the alliance territories.
EVE is renowned for it's rampant piracy, trickery (putting a shuttle up for sale for 50 million isk while saying it's a Battleship - always check the goods kiddies) and outright backstabbing. It's like the textbook example on how to act in a cyberpunk world. Critics say that it's just full of arrogant evil guys out for themselves, while supporters say it's a truly free world where you can do what you want, rather than just plodding along the path decided by the developers.
The ships look damn nice as well.
A few notes: These are largely unconfirmed until I get hold of the GCHQ guy again.
- The victim corp was apparently known for corp hanger raiding itself. That's the practice of infiltrating a corp until they give you access to their communual hangers then robbing them blind. Just goes to show, EVE is the anti-carebear game.
- The victim corp is still alive, and rebuilding. Lots of publicity for them.
- GHCQ is pure evil. Their website advertises them, saying they are there to commit terrorism, assassinations and infilitrations 'and any other atrocity you want'. They fall back on good old piracy when no jobs are open.