Kazakhstan authorities outline crackdown on illegal mining

Kazakhstan has formed an interagency group led by the Tax Committee to combat illegal miners, according to Deputy Energy Minister Zhandos Nurgambetov, as reported by inbusiness.kz.

He also discussed actions to detect illegal mining farms. According to Nurgambetov, they are closed immediately after being identified.

The official added that the capabilities of the Ministry of Energy and the Committee for Energy Oversight in locating illegal miners are limited, and urged power transmission companies to cooperate on this issue.

“China imposed a ban, and mining somehow moved to Kazakhstan. We, frankly speaking, do not fully understand where exactly it is located. That is the whole problem. This issue requires study,” — said the deputy minister.

As reported, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered to identify all mining farms and raise the tax on cryptocurrency extraction. To bring shadow miners into the formal economy, authorities plan to license them.

At the same time, registered miners have for a long time not been receiving electricity supplies and are considering relocating to another jurisdiction.

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