A 39-year-old man in Russia’s Komi Republic is under criminal investigation for allegedly stealing electricity to run a cryptocurrency mining operation.
According to the investigators from the Syktyvdinsky District Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Komi Republic, the crypto miner (suspect) caused damage worth about 6 million rubles to a regional energy supplier. The authorities also claim he illegally connected to the power grid to supply electricity to his private crypto farm.
Based on the findings, the man started mining crypto in August last year. And all the time he operated, he was not registered as a crypto miner, nor did he have legal permission to operate such an activity at the scale the authorities discovered.
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Law enforcement officials said the mining equipment was installed in another building located on the suspect’s property. Instead of using a legal electricity connection, he tapped directly into the grid system without obtaining authorization. This allowed the crypto miner to power multiple machines while avoiding paying electrical bills.
The operation was uncovered by regional officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Following the discovery, officers carried out searches at the property and seized different computer equipment that is believed to have been used for the mining activities.
Criminal Charges and Ongoing Investigation on the Crypto Miner
The police have opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which relates to causing property damage without theft through the abuse of trust or by deception. Investigators have continued to gather evidence in order to fully determine the full scale of the losses.
If found guilty, the crypto miner could face serious legal consequences, as the Russian authorities continue to monitor other illegal cryptocurrency mining operations that place heavy pressure on the regional power grids
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