SBU uncovers Ukraine’s largest illegal crypto mining farm, commences investigation
2 min readTL;DR Breakdown
- SBU exposes the largest illegal crypto mining farm in Ukraine to date
- The perpetrators have been charged according to the Criminal Code of Ukraine
- The war against illegal miners continues to gain momentum.
Illegal crypto mining farm in Ukraine – SBU findings
The Ukrainian state security service (SBU) announced that it had unearthed the largest illegal cryptocurrency mining facility in Ukraine, and in the same vein, large-scale theft of electricity.
In a report released on Thursday, Jul 8, 2021, the illegal mining site was discovered in JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho’s former premises and is said to be the biggest to date. The SBU revealed that the power-intensive activity of the illegal cryptocurrency mining facility in Ukraine is guilty of the blackouts experienced in some areas in Vinnytsya.
According to reports, preliminary estimates have costed monthly power losses inflicted by the mining facility at about 186,200 USD to 259,300 USD (5 to 7 million UAH).
The investigation also revealed that crypto miners from Vinnytsya and Kyiv set up the illegal mining facility. They had tampered with the electric power metering units to conceal their unlawful acts.
The discoveries at the mining farm include draft documents on power consumption, 50 CPUs, 3800 gaming consoles, over 500 GPUs, pen drives, mobile phones, and notebooks – all of which have been seized.
The SBU has commenced criminal proceedings for the unauthorized use of electricity, water, and thermal energy against the operators of the mining facility, under the Ukrainian criminal code (Article no. 188-1).
The war against illegal crypto mining continues
Since the crypto mining crackdown in China began, the war has taken several dimensions, and several countries are now paying more attention to the sector.
A few weeks back, an illegal crypto mining farm was also discovered in the West Midlands region of England some weeks ago by the UK government. According to a West Midlands police sergeant, Jennifer Griffin, the farm was connected to the national grid and mined BTC with several Antminer S9s units.
She added that “all of the equipment found at the illegal crypto mining farm has been confiscated and will be seized permanently under the UK Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).”
Also, in Tehran, Iran, the country’s largest crypto mining facility was uncovered by authorities, and over 7000 mining equipment were seized. The activities of the illegal farm were said to be consuming about 4 % of the total electric power distribution in Iran.
The Middle East nation has since joined China and the league of countries that have banned the mining of cryptocurrencies.
