Unlawful Mining Operations in Russia Incur Financial Loss of Over 1.3 Billion Rubles in 2024
Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Mining Wreaks Havoc on Russia's Energy Sector
In 2024, Russian energy giant Rosseti suffered losses of over 1.3 billion rubles due to illegal mining activities, as revealed in a recent report. Breakdown of losses was as follows:
- "Rosseti North Caucasus": Over 600 million rubles lost.
- "Rosseti Novosibirsk": 400 million rubles lost.
- "Rosseti Center and Volga": 120 million rubles lost.
The highest losses incurred were in Novosibirsk, where an individual operated an illegal mining farm with over 3,200 mining rigs, causing damages of approximately 197 million rubles.
Such unauthorized mining activities lead to power grid overloads and voltage drops, resulting in failure of household and industrial equipment. Throughout the year, experts managed to thwart 130 illegal connections and reported 40 cases to law enforcement. Offenders face potential prison sentences for their criminal activities.
Historically, electricity theft for mining in Russia has been estimated to cost around 10 billion rubles annually. It's important to note that in February, Dagestan police discovered an illegal mining farm, seizing 378 devices.
While precise damage figures may vary across regions, the repeated discovery of these illegal mining operations and their substantial negative impact on the power grid, as well as financial losses for power companies, highlight the ongoing and significant economic repercussions of such activities.authorities
In a nutshell, the cumulative damage caused by unauthorized crypto mining extends into the millions of rubles per region and has instigated legal and regulatory responses, albeit a comprehensive national figure remains elusive in the available information.
- The unauthorized crypto mining activities have caused a significant financial loss for the environmental-science sector, with an estimated annual loss of 10 billion rubles due to electricity theft.
- In the general-news category, authorities are actively addressing the issue of unauthorized crypto mining, as seen in the seizure of 378 devices by Dagestan police.
- The crime-and-justice system is focusing on the repercussions of these activities, with offenders facing potential prison sentences for their illegal activities in the industry sector.
