Crypto Miners in Russia’s Irkutsk Region Fined Almost $1.7 Million This Year – Mining Bitcoin News

Crypto miners in Irkutsk, Russia have been fined a lot for their illegal use of electricity to make digital currencies. A report, which cites prosecutors, also shows that hundreds of lawsuits were filed by power utilities.

Irkutsk Crypto Miner Pays 100 Million Rubles in Fines In 2022

Cryptocurrency mining has become a profitable business for many companies in Russia’s energy-rich regions, and an alternative income source for ordinary Russians. Many have tried to make digital currency using cheaper electricity at home or stolen power, despite the low cost of electricity used for commercial purposes.

Irkutsk has been investigating illegal mining activities. It is located in Siberia’s oblast, which boasts abundant energy resources and rates starting at $0.01 per kWh for rural areas. They are alleged to have led to frequent disruptions in the area, as well as an increase in energy consumption.

Local power distribution companies filed over 400 lawsuits this year against miners who illegally used subsidized electricity for their population.

A total of 100 million rubles has been fined by the courts, which amounts to close to $1.7 million as of this writing. A January report stated that the Irkutskenergosbyt utility sought to collect 63 million rubles, or almost $800,000., from illegal miners.

During recent raids, more than 9,000 units of mining equipment have been dismantled and removed from the Baikalsk thermal power plant and the village of Ust-Ordynsky, the regional Prosecutor’s Office announced this week, quoted by the Federal Press portal. According to a press release, the shutting down of the underground mining farm will avoid accidents at the heat source facility.

Mining is among those crypto-related activities that still await comprehensive regulation in Russia, with many officials in Moscow sharing a view that it should be recognized as an industrial activity and taxed accordingly, while citing Russia’s competitive advantages such as cheap energy and cool climate. It was recommended by the Russian Ministry of Energy in March that it be legalized immediately.

Russian authorities are trying to curb at-home mining. While a finance ministry official indicated this spring that the government sees no point in trying to completely ban it, an industry association of power suppliers proposed measures to curb mining in basements and garages and the country’s anti-monopoly agency suggested introducing higher electricity rates for amateur crypto miners.

Are you expecting Russian authorities to take tougher action against illegal crypto miners Comment below.

Lubomir Tassav

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.