Siberian Local Gov’t Official Caught ‘Illegally Mining Crypto in His Garage’

A Siberian local government official has been arrested for “illegally mining crypto” using a makeshift power grid connection in his garage.

In a Telegram post from the Novosibirsk Oblast’s Prosecution Service, a spokesperson said the unnamed man was a lawmaker for the Krivodanovsky Rural Council in the Novosibirsk Oblast.

Siberian Lawmaker ‘Caused Large-scale Damage to Power Grid’

The prosecutor’s office said it had charged the lawmaker under Article 165 of the Russian Criminal Code.

The article pertains to “causing property damage by deception on an especially large scale.”

The spokesperson claimed the lawmaker mined an unnamed coin from June 2022 to June 2023.

He reportedly did so without obtaining a permit from JSC RES, the state-run Novosibirsk-based power provider.

Investigators said the man “bought” a range of crypto mining equipment from online vendors.

They said he installed the equipment in a garage in the village of Krivodanovka. They added that he used an “unauthorized connection” with “power receiving devices.”

Prosecutors explained that the man connected his equipment to the grid using “piercing clamps.”

He reportedly connected these to “an overhead line on an electric pole” that ran “to an electrical substation” near the garage.

Prosecutors added that they had confiscated 16 crypto mining rigs from the garage. In total, they said they had seized crypto mining hardware worth over $11,300.

The man stole electricity worth some $61,350 to power his rigs, they added. The prosecution service has since filed its case with a branch of the Novosibirsk District Court.

If he is convicted, the spokesperson added, “the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for a punishment of imprisonment for up to five years.”

ETH Focus?

Novosibirsk has stepped up the intensity of its crackdown on illegal home-based crypto miners, claiming that most use illegal power connections.

In October, law enforcement officers raided a property in the northeastern Moshkovsky District, where they said they discovered “six administrative violations.”

Officials claim the property’s owner had “managed to earn 12 million rubles [over $123,000]” from his mining operations.

Cryptonews.com has seen several uncorroborated claims on online Russian crypto-related forums claiming that most Siberian home miners focus their efforts on mining Ethereum (ETH).