IT working for a company Experts have been detained at a medical facility in Russia’s Altai Republic for illegally mining cryptocurrencies inside a Covid-19 hospital. The man minted digital currency using stolen electricity for nearly a year before law enforcement vandalized his crypto farm.
Altai resident arrested for conducting underground crypto mining operations
An employee of the Republic Hospital in Gorno-Altaysk, the capital of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia, has been arrested for setting up crypto farms in medical institutions. According to Russian crypto news outlets Bits.media and RBC Crypto, he has been running a mining rig since early last year.
In February 2021, the man served as Chief Information Security Specialist, installed the minting hardware and connected it to the servers of the hospital, which was previously used to treat Covid-19 patients, The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic detailed in a press release.
According to a statement from the regional department of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the mining equipment operated for almost a full year due to stolen electricity, resulting in losses of more than 400,000 rubles (at current exchange rates) The calculation is close to $7,000)
The law enforcement agency further stated that the IT specialist turned to cryptocurrency mining when he was experiencing financial difficulties. He quickly realized he didn’t have the necessary computing power and energy at home and decided to set up a mining operation at his workplace.
During a search of the suspect’s home, police and FSB officers confiscated mining equipment and other computer equipment. The unidentified crypto miner could be sentenced to up to two years in prison for violating the Russian Federation’s criminal code.
Altai’s case has been broken amid the growing popularity of crypto mining as an alternative source of income for many ordinary Russians. Minting digital coins in basements, garages, villas and even government agencies has become a common practice, especially in regions that offer cheap, subsidized electricity, including in Siberian states like Irkutsk.
Cryptocurrency mining Russia is not yet fully regulated, and its abundant energy resources and cool climate are what miners are after. Measures have been taken to increase electricity prices for home-use electricity miners.
In May, authorities in Dagestan shut down two illegal crypto farms and confiscated more than 1,500 mining point machines. One of them is located at a pumping station of the Russian Republic Water Supply Company.
The mining facility was established by a resident of the capital Мahachkala in collusion with Russian employees. water company. Meanwhile, a crypto mining rig was also discovered in Russia’s oldest prison, Butyrka. It was allegedly operated by a deputy warden.
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Arrest, Crypto, Crypto Farm, Crypto Miner, Crypto Mining, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency, Hospital, Illegal Mining, IT experts, miners, miners, mining, mining equipment, mining equipment, mines, mining hardware, mining machines, Russia, Russia
Do you think Russia should regulate home mining while producing cryptocurrencies on an industrial scale? Share your thoughts on the topic in the comments section below.
Lubomir Tassev
Lubomir Tassev is a tech-savvy Eastern European Journalist, who likes Hitchens’ famous quote: “Being a writer is who I am, not what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
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