Bitcoin Miners Seized by Police Stolen in Moscow Region

The Investigative Committee of the Moscow Region has initiated a criminal case against unidentified officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from whom seized cryptocurrency miners were stolen. This was reported by Kommersant.

According to the case materials, 68 ASIC miners and other equipment were confiscated by police in April 2022 during a raid in one of the SNT in Naro-Fominsk. The owner was suspected of electricity theft.

The decision to open a criminal case on this matter contained several inaccuracies. Notably, “Mosoblenergo” was listed as the victim, while the electricity supply contract for the SNT was with “Mosenergosbyt.” The latter provided the suspect’s lawyer with a certificate confirming no penalty charges for the period of equipment operation.

Additionally, according to the defense, the investigator miscalculated the damage amount, indicating a much longer period of miner operation.

The equipment owner refused to admit guilt and repeatedly demanded the return of his property. The miners were not recognized as evidence in the case.

It turned out that during the seizure, the devices were neither inventoried nor sealed. Instead of being taken to a specialized warehouse, they were stored in a local entrepreneur’s hangar based on a verbal agreement with the investigator. Later, this facility was broken into by unknown individuals, and its contents disappeared.

The lawyer for the owner of the ASIC miners claims that this information was concealed from them for 11 months, with the delay in return being attributed to an alleged ongoing examination. When investigators finally agreed to return the equipment, it was not the Canaan Avalon A1246-85T but cheaper Innosilicon T2T models belonging to another miner.

The investigation into the negligence of law enforcement officers continues.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that in the Irkutsk region, the owner of a mining farm with 214 devices will face trial.