SERDANG, Dec 9 — Police raided three premises suspected of carrying out cryptocurrency mining activities using illegally connected electricity in Bandar Kinrara here, early last month.
Serdang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Razali Abu Samah said that four locals – three men and a woman – were arrested in a raid, jointly conducted with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), at Jalan PUJ 3/8 Taman Puncak Jalil on November 5, at about 10.20am.
He said that TNB estimated that it incurred losses amounting to RM90,000 a month due to operations at the three premises where 240 crypto mining machines were seized.
“Investigations also found that the syndicate has been operating for two months and required a period of four months to generate one unit of Bitcoin cryptocurrency per machine, which means they can generate about RM17 million if they continue to operate for four months,” he told a press conference here, today.
He said the investigation also found that each premise only recorded electricity bills of less than RM1,000 a month as a result of illegal wiring.
Razali said that all suspects, aged 29 to 54, with one of them having a previous criminal record related to electrical theft and mischief, were detained under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA).
He said that all suspects were remanded for seven days from November 5 to 12 before being released on police bail.
The three male suspects will be charged in the Petaling Jaya Court tomorrow according to section 37 (1) of the Electricity Supply Act 1990, while the female suspect who is the wife of one of the male suspects, will not be charged.
“The investigation also found that the three two-storey shophouses were rented from three different owners; the owners of the premises were unaware that the tenants were committing illegal activities,” he said.
He also explained that the crypto mining machines were imported, costing between RM200 and RM500 each, while the three premises operated 24 hours a day until their activities were uncovered.
— Bernama
