Irkutsk Police Uncover Mining Farm Hidden in Bushes

Authorities also detained ASIC thieves and conducted raids in other regions.

In Irkutsk, police officers and energy company specialists discovered a mining farm in a forest plantation. The monthly income was approximately 250,000 rubles.

ASIC miners were installed 20 meters from residential buildings. Unknown individuals connected 21 cryptocurrency mining devices to a 0.4 kV power line.

Preliminary estimates suggest the damage from unauthorized electricity consumption amounted to about 1 million rubles. Authorities are currently identifying those involved in organizing the illegal mining farm. The investigation is ongoing.

On August 22, in the Irkutsk region, four suspects were detained for stealing equipment used for mining digital assets worth 5.3 million rubles. The incident occurred in the settlement of Magistralny, where unknown individuals broke into a hangar containing mining equipment.

Law enforcement seized the stolen equipment and returned it to the owner. A criminal case has been initiated regarding the theft. All detainees have been placed under travel restrictions and are required to behave appropriately.

Mining Hotels in Other Regions

On August 29, a large mining farm ceased operations in Krasnoyarsk on the premises of a former pulp and paper mill. A year earlier, a local entrepreneur had obtained permission to connect two premises. Instead of the declared activities, he installed cryptocurrency mining equipment there.

As part of an expansion, the organizer of the hotel installed additional containers with equipment outdoors, exceeding the leased area. He connected to a land plot that supplies socially significant facilities, including a clinic.

The prosecutor’s office noted that the entrepreneur did not show the electrical equipment to Rostekhnadzor specialists during inspections. Following law enforcement demands, the network organization restricted electricity supply to the site.

Days earlier, an illegal mining farm was dismantled in the Zaporizhzhia region, where cryptocurrency mining is officially banned. 147 ASIC devices were operating on the premises of a private house in one of the region’s villages.

Earlier in August, energy specialists discovered illegal cryptocurrency miners at a livestock farm in the Ingush village of Surkhakhi, which led to the theft of 8 million kWh of electricity.