According to the prosecutor's office of the Irkutsk region, in February, an entrepreneur installed a metal container in one of the microdistricts of Shelekhov, where he placed 27 cryptocurrency mining devices. The investigation believes the equipment was connected to the power grid bypassing metering devices, allowing the use of electricity without payment.
The damage to the energy supply organization is estimated at over 23 million rubles. The operation of the illegal mining farm has been halted, and law enforcement officials have seized the equipment.
Investigators have initiated a criminal case on causing property damage to an owner or other possessor of property through deception or abuse of trust (Part 1 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The maximum punishment under this article is five years in a penal colony and a fine of 80,000 rubles or in the amount of six months' income from mining.
Since April 7, 2025, a ban on mining has been in effect in 29 municipalities in the south of the Irkutsk region. The restrictions apply to individuals, individual entrepreneurs, and legal entities, including registered miners. The list of territories where cryptocurrency mining is prohibited includes Shelekhov and the Shelekhovsky district.
Earlier in the Irkutsk region, police officers discovered an illegal mining farm in a forest belt near the village of Stolbova. The inspection began after representatives of the energy supply company reported suspicious connections to the power grid to law enforcement.
