Russia, Ukraine Shut Down Several Cryptocurrency Farms
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Loading... - Theo Pearson
- 07 Dec 2021
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Russia Busts Illegal Mining Farms in Moscow Region and Dagestan
Russian law enforcement and customs agents have recently uncovered the theft of a large amount of electricity from the network operated by Rosseti in Moscow Oblast, the region adjacent to Russia’s capital. Tass broke the news about the operation this week, quoting Ekaterina Korotkova from the Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor’s Office. The official explained:
"An audit revealed an unauthorized connection to the power grid, theft of electricity and illegal seizure of land for the operation of equipment designed to perform cryptographic calculations related to the mining of digital currencies."
The cost of the illegally consumed electricity used to power the mining hardware exceeds 500,000 rubles a day (almost $7,000), Korotkova detailed. Authorities have launched a criminal case and intend to prosecute the owners of the coin minting facility.
Two cryptocurrency farms were also busted in Dagestan, a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus. In late November, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported that a large mining operation had been found in a mountainous region. Preliminary data from the investigation suggests that its unknown operators have caused damages of an estimated 1 million rubles (over $13,000).
Local police have also uncovered a mining enterprise in Botlikh district where miners were connected to the grid without permission. According to a report by Forklog quoting Dagestan’s interior ministry, the crypto farm had been set up since November and run by a 35-year-old resident of Dakhadayevsky district who stole power worth 257,000 rubles (around $3,500).
The law “On Digital Financial Assets,” which went into force in January, regulated some crypto-related activities in the Russian Federation but cryptocurrency mining, among others, isn’t one of them. Calls have been mounting among officials in Moscow this year to recognize the business as an entrepreneurial activity and tax it accordingly. Read More…
