Russian Authorities Seize 10,000 Mining Machines on June 2, Uncover $12.7M Electricity Theft

According to Bits.media, Russian authorities seized approximately 10,000 cryptocurrency mining machines at an illegal facility in the Urals region on June 2. The operation was conducted jointly by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), police, and the local power company, with estimated electricity theft losses reaching nearly 1 billion rubles (approximately $12.7 million).

Three suspects were arrested and placed under house arrest on suspicion of causing property damage through fraud and abuse of trust. Investigators found that the operation involved falsifying electricity meter data to conceal actual power consumption, which was approximately twice the authorized usage levels.