Illegal Crypto Mining: Russian Police Seize More than 3,200 Rigs in Siberia Raids

cryptonews.com:

Russian police have seized over 3,200 crypto mining rigs in raids on four large “illegal” data centers in Siberia.

Per the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian power provider Rosseti (via RBC Crypto), police officers have charged the mining center operators with criminal charges.

Rosseti said the centers were operating as part of an interconnected “network.” The firm said miners ran centers located “in different parts” of the city of Novosibirsk.

The power firm said it estimated the miners stole a combined total of $2.1 million worth of electricity from the Novosibirsk grid.

Police officers conducted searches, and confiscated nine power transformers and “3,225 cryptocurrency mining devices.”

Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia. Along with Irkutsk, almost 2,000km to the east, it has become a major hub for Russia’s fast-growing crypto mining industry.

However, power providers have complained of a rapid rise in “illegal” crypto mining. By this, they mean crypto miners who use illegal connections to the power network to steal electricity.

Novosibirsk police officers said they had completely shut down “the work” of all four “crypto farms at once” in simultaneous raids.

Police raided facilities near a wastewater treatment plant. They also swooped on a center in a forest on the outskirts of the Leninsky District.

Another farm was operating near “a city landfill on the left bank” of the River Ob. One more was found in a “private sector” area in the Kalininsky District.

All four mining farms “were equipped with modern power equipment,” energy company officials said.

But none of the centers were using “legal connections” to power grids, Rosseti explained. A spokesperson added:

“The operators carried out electricity theft on an