Russian Power Provider Busts ‘Illegal 110-Rig Crypto Mining Farm’

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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November 24, 2024 22:00 EST

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The Russian power provider Rosseti is stepping up its crackdown on illegal crypto mining, and has seized 110 rigs in a major raid.

The raid was carried out in Makhachkala, Dagestan, by Dagenergo, Rosseti’s North Caucasus arm, the power firm wrote on its Telegram channel.

Russian Power Provider Continues Crackdown

The power provider said its officers had shut down a “large illegal crypto mining farm.” The farm was allegedly built into a “private home” in the center of Makhachkala, Degestan’s capital and biggest city.

Officers said they worked with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Dagestan branch on the operation.

Dagenergo and Rosseti released video footage of the raid on the Telegram channel. The footage appears to show the house was divided into sections, one of which was a makeshift engineering lab for crypto mining rigs.

Another section of the house was seemingly dedicated to housing rigs. The footage also shows a central control center and several wired connections to an electrical meter.

The final part of the video shows officers stacking up the crypto mining rigs they have seized in a large pile.

The raid “was conducted” near Lake Vuzovskoye, the firm said. It addws that the officers also confiscated the house’s apparently modified electricity meter.

Dagenergo concluded that an investigation was “currently underway,” with engineers “assessing the scale of damage caused to the regional energy system.”

‘28 Farms Shut Down in 2024’

Rosseti’s North Caucasus arm early last week reported that it had shut down 28 “illegal crypto mining farms” in Dagestan this year.

The firm has also launched 12 criminal cases against suspected illegal miners. In September, investigators in Makhachkala found a 17-rig subterranean crypto mining “farm” operating under the city’s Sergokalinsky District.

Moscow this month enacted a “winter months” ban on crypto mining in Dagestan and other Russian regions, effective until 2031.

This follows a recent public call on the government to act from Sergey Melikov, the head of the republic’s government.