Russia Cracks Down on Illicit Crypto Mining Operations

According to a recent report by DL News, Russian authorities have taken action against a large number of suspected illegal cryptocurrency mining operations in the Irkutsk region. Over 8,000 sites were discovered and seized, with many disguised as chicken coops, greenhouses, forests, paper mills, and abandoned gas stations.

The power company responsible for monitoring electricity usage, Irkutskenergosbyt, has been working to uncover these illicit operations since 2019. In that time, they have filed 2,170 lawsuits against the miners, seeking a total of $18.5 million in compensation for the power losses incurred.

While some cases have been resolved out of court or with fines imposed by the courts, the total amount recovered is significantly lower than what was initially sought. To combat this issue further, various regions in Russia are planning to implement artificial intelligence tools to track down and identify potential illegal mining operations.