While the activity of mining crypto is expanding in Malaysia, amount of stolen electricity increasing alarmingly, forcing authorities to take action, reports Beincrypto January 1, 2022.
Theft of electricity carries heavy penalties in Malaysia
Malaysian authorities have arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of illegally mining cryptocurrency in Manjung district, Perak state, Malaysia.
Police discovered 30 sites of mining that stole electricity. The Perak police chief announced that investigations are underway to find out who is behind these illegal activities and how long they have been taking place. The amount of stolen electricity amounts to nearly 425,000 euros.
The policeman also gave more details about the equipment discovered on the thirty crypto sites. Among the items seized were 1,720 mining Bitcoin (BTC), 15 screens, 22 processors, 16 keyboards, 56 modems, a Toyota vehicle, 44 fans, seven CCTV cameras and a laptop. The alleged perpetrator is being held for theft and mischief.
In Malaysia, the mining cryptocurrency is not prohibited, but severe penalties are foreseen for the theft of electricity. According to article 37 of Malaysian law on electricity supply, those who abuse the country’s power grids can be fined up to $ 23,700 and up to five years in prison. According to Cambridge Alternative Funding Center, Malaysia contributes more than 4.5% of the power of mining global.
Rise in seizures of mining equipment
In June 2021, Malaysian police carried out a series of searches on four crypto sites in George Town, Penang state and seized more than 400 devices of mining bitcoins. The installations stole electricity worth around 90,000 euros, according to data from Tenaga Nasional, a private electricity production and distribution company.
In July 2021, a similar operation against the mining of cryptocurrency took place on the island of Borneo, whose northern regions belong to Malaysia and Brunei. During this raid carried out by the police of the Malaysian city of Miri and the company Sarawak Energy, 1069 devices of mining were destroyed by a steamroller, after three houses were set on fire due to an electricity theft of 1.76 million euros.
Hatten Land, a Malaysian real estate developer, has entered into an agreement with Frontier Digital Asset Management to manage more than 1,000 mining owned by Hatten Land in Malaysia. Hatten associated with EnjinStarter and other companies to develop a token and a metaverse. On September 6, the company announced that it had reached an agreement with Singapore Myanmar Investco to examine the feasibility of mining of cryptocurrencies.
The fight against cryptocurrency miners who operate illegally continues in Malaysia. However, despite this crackdown, the country’s authorities are not planning to ban digital assets, as China did in 2021.
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Anne-Lise Klein
Passionate about new technologies and computers, blockchain and crypto are a field in which I have totally blossomed. I am convinced that they are a crucial part of our future!
