The Energy Supervisory Authority will send to law enforcement authorities materials from inspections of illegal connections to power grids of cryptocurrency mining farms to identify their owners. This directive was given to the agency by Deputy Prime Minister Kristina Ozgan.
From early 2020 to January 2021, employees of Chernomorenergo issued 588 acts. However, most on-site inspections were not documented, as it proved impossible to identify the owners of mining equipment.
Since Chernomorenergo can only record the fact of violations, Kristina Ozgan ordered all inspection materials to be sent to [simple_tooltip content=’Государственный комитет по стандартам, потребительскому и техническому надзору’]Gosstandart[/simple_tooltip] for bringing miners to administrative responsibility.
In the committee’s specialised department, they argued that they would not be able to apply penalties without information about the owners of the equipment or responsible persons. However, Ozgan advised maximizing the use of the agency’s powers:
“A lack of knowledge of the owner of the facility does not absolve you of the obligation to apply penalties. There are certain norms implying liability in the form of fines.”
The deputy prime minister ordered the Energy Supervisory Authority to compile lists and send them to law enforcement agencies to identify the owners or beneficiaries of mining farms.
In December 2020, the Abkhaz Cabinet banned cryptocurrency mining and restricted the import of equipment for its conduct until 1 June 2021. Temporarily blocked were mining pool sites.
This is due to the fact that the republic lacks electricity to meet the growing needs of the population and the economy.
Within a week of the decree’s publication, the police disconnected almost 7,000 ASIC miners.
At the end of January 2021, Abkhaz President Aslan Bjania submitted to parliament a package of bills providing for fines, confiscation of equipment, and criminal liability for illegal connection of mining farms.
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