Russia, Ukraine shut down several cryptocurrency mines

Russian and Ukrainian police have arrested illegal crypto mines suspected of stealing electricity. Underground mines are found in the cities of Kiev and Moscow, and around the Russian Republic of Dagestan.

Russia destroys illegal mining sites in Moscow and Dagestan

Russian police and customs recently discovered a large amount of stolen electricity from a grid operated by Rosseti in the Moscow region adjacent to the Russian capital. The TASS news agency reported on the work this week, according to Ekaterina Korotkova from the Moscow regional transport prosecutor's office. Here is the description:

“Investigations have uncovered illegal burglary to operate devices designed to generate cryptographic numbers associated with unauthorized network connections, burglary and the benefits of digital mining.

Korotkova explains that the cost of electricity used illegally to use mining equipment exceeds 500,000 rubles per day (approximately US $ 7,000). The police have started to break the law and will prosecute the owners of the mines.

Two cryptocurrency farms in the Russian Republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus were also demolished. At the end of November, the Pravda Youth League announced that a major mining industry had been spotted in the mountainous region. According to preliminary survey data, the loss due to unknown owners was estimated at 1 million rubles (over $ 13,000).

Local police also discovered a mining company in the Botlikh region where miners logged into the grid without permission. According to a Dagestan Interior Ministry report cited by Forklog, the cryptocurrency farm was established in November and run by a 35-year-old Dakhadayevsky resident who stole valuable electricity for 257,000 rubles ( approximately $ 3,500).

The Digital Financial Assets Act, which came into effect in January, regulates certain activities in the Russian Federation, but cryptocurrency mining is not one of them. This year, workers in Moscow recognized the company as a business and demand to pay taxes on it.

Underground cryptocurrency mining discovered in Kiev, Ukraine

At the same time, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced on Friday that it had found an illegal base in Kiev province. As the main body of the Ukrainian police, our residents set up ASICs in a hangar they rent in the Bukhansky region on the edge of the city. They are estimated to spend 3.5 million hryvnia (over USD 128,000) on electricity.

The growth of cryptocurrency has turned Ukraine into a vanguard, and in recent years the government has taken steps to legalize “virtual assets”. While Bitcoin mining is not restricted, it is still unregulated. This year, the SBU last month tracked down miners who shut down numerous crypto mines and used national electronics in several regions, including big data in central Ukraine.