Hardware Worth $1.9 Million Stolen in Russia’s Crypto Mining Capital

Russian law enforcement officials are investigating the theft of about $ 1.9 million worth of mining hardware. Powerful computing equipment has gone missing from a crypto mining hotel in Irkutsk, with its owners accused of large-scale fraud.

100 Russians lost mining machinery worth 100 million rubles

Police in Russian Irkutsk Oblast The Tass News Agency quoted the Directorate General of the region’s Interior Ministry as saying it had launched an investigation into operators of a mining hosting facility suspected of defrauding customers and stealing hardware to make their coins.

In anticipation of a quick return, the miners handed over their equipment to the miner’s hotel operators, law enforcement officials explained. At one point, the latter stopped all payments to their customers and failed to repay the expensive machines.

“A criminal case was initiated based on these facts under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Large-scale fraud). Various sources, including computer equipment and documents, were seized from their office,” a statement said.

Between November 2021 and May 2022, investigators were able to establish that the suspects had lured people who wanted to install their coin-making hardware into a mining hotel. They were offered rental and electricity prices that were much lower than the actual market price.

At the same time, they urged miners to hand over their equipment as soon as possible, citing low rental space. Owners of mining rings were not told where their equipment was going to be located and only representatives of the hosting service had access to the cut coins.

Russian police are currently searching for the culprits. About 100 people have been affected by their actions. They gave the organizers of the mining hotel equipment an estimate of 100 million rubles, which is close to $ 1.9 million.

In rural areas, starting at $ 0.01 per kWh and providing some of the lowest electricity bills in the country, a spike is found in the crypto mine in the Irkutsk region, where farms are often installed in foundations and garages and powered by subsidized household electricity.

Often, for this reason, Oblast is known as the mining capital of Russia. Earlier this year, local electricity suppliers complained about a Rise in Electricity consumption in residential areas, which is blamed on home mining.

While cases of mining hardware theft have been on the rise, Russian media reports have revealed that aircraft carrying second-hand mining equipment from China, which overtook the industry in May 2021, has continued this year. Russia plans to legalize the crypto mine, which will benefit from its vast energy resources and cold climate.