Altcoin News: In Malaysia, 33 Mining Farms Are Accused of Theft of Electricity

August 9, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

Malaysian authorities raided 33 premises that served as mining farms and found that enterprises illegally used electricity for their operations.

According to a local Malay Mail publication, Malaysia’s largest electricity utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), lost about $760,736 due to unpaid electricity charges. After the authorities suspected the theft, the police raided 33 premises that served as mining farms and located in the vicinity of Kuantan.

As a result of the searches, it turned out that the farms were connected directly to the switchboard, bypassing the meter. This created discrepancies in billable bills and real electricity consumption. TNB noted that enterprises illegally used electricity for at least six months.

“They paid a bill of only RM219 [$52] whereas they should have been billed RM108,000 [$25,674] a month,” explained City Sarah Johana Mohd Said, general manager of the TNB accounting and distribution network.

Note that last year a large cryptocurrency mining farm was closed at the Orenburg RTI mining farm, and in May this year the Dagestan miner was detained for stealing electricity by 4.5 million rubles. Similar cases have also been recorded in other countries, including Germany, China and Taiwan.

Author: Marko Vidrih