Malaysia Intensifies Crackdown on Illegal Bitcoin Mining Operations Amid $1.1B Electricity Theft

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Malaysia Cracks Down on Bitcoin Miners Behind $1.1B Electricity Theft Original Link: Malaysian authorities are using drones and handheld sensors to crack down on Bitcoin mining operations stealing power from the grid, according to recent reports.

Last month, Malaysia launched a special committee made up of staff from the Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia and TNB to target illicit actors.

The move is the latest in a series by authorities to rein in illegal mining, including a crackdown in May this year that shut down almost 2,400 operations. Among them was the seizure of 45 rigs in the northeast of the country. In February, an explosion at a house in Bandar Puncak Alam city also revealed an illegal operation.

Over the past five years, authorities have discovered 14,000 illicit mining operations in the country, with theft from the national power grid accounting for around $1.1 billion in losses.

Companies have set up rigs across the country in a variety of locales, from a former logging yard in Sarawak to an incomplete shopping mall overlooking the Strait of Malacca.

Bitcoin mining is legal provided power is obtained properly and taxes are paid, but some operators are skirting these requirements.

According to industry observers, power theft in Malaysia is a longstanding issue that isn’t only limited to Bitcoin mining. “Mining does make it more lucrative, and these cases have been around for years,” noted one expert. Historical records show local news reports dating back to 2019, including the well-known incident where police crushed thousands of confiscated Bitcoin miners with steamrollers.

Beyond crackdowns, preventing illicit mining is proving difficult. “In most cases, operators tamper with meters and come up with clever ways to disguise their usage,” according to industry sources. Power companies typically only detect it after noticing irregularities between billed amounts and actual consumption over time.

Other Southeast Asian nations have also been making moves against illegal mining. This week, Thailand shut down an $8.6 million Bitcoin mining operation linked to unauthorized networks which consisted of 3,462 rigs across six locations. And in September, two individuals were arrested in Hong Kong for siphoning electricity from care homes for the disabled to power cryptocurrency mining rigs.