Malaysian Police Shut Down Crypto Mining Operation for $600k Electricity Theft

Sept 1, 2020 — Two Malaysian cryptocurrency mining facilities have been raided by law enforcement for an alleged electricity theft totaling more than $600k. According to reports by local news outlet The Star, the raids were conducted as a joint operation between Malaysia’s Energy Commission, the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) power utility firm, and local officials. Those responsible for illegally siphoning more than half a million dollars worth of electricity to mine crypto were arrested. The two mining locations were in Iskandar Puteri, in the province of Johor, not far from Singapore. Nazlin Alim Sadikhi, a regional director of the Malaysian Energy Commission, indicated that one of the crypto mining operations had 100 rigs and had been operating without interruption for three years. The other setup had 48 rigs and had been running for approximately two years. Upon inspection, Nazlin said, “we found that illegal wiring was installed so that electricity was supplied directly and not through the TNB meter.” He went on to note the fact that landlords are often involved in the illegal wiring and are as responsible as the culprits themselves. “In most cases, the owners of the premises were in cahoots with the cryptocurrency mining operators.” Under Malaysian law, such crimes come with significant punishments. If convicted, the masterminds could be fined a maximum of $240,000, face ten years in jail, or a combination of both. For the TNB and local police, this kind of raid does not appear to be an isolated incident. Per the report, 288 cryptocurrency mining premises had been raided in Johor since 2018, including about 90 premises this year alone. Just last month, BeInCrypto reported that five people had been arrested on similar charges in the state of Sarawak.