Russian regulation enforcers have began seizing Bitcoin (BTC) from unlawful crypto miners, amid a widening crackdown.
In a press launch from the Investigative Division of the Investigative Committee (SKR) for the Amur Oblast, the SKR defined that it had confiscated Bitcoin value round 7 million rubles ($88,570; BTC 0.8414) from an unnamed former electrical energy firm government.
The accused was described as the previous head of technological connection providers on the Amur department of the Far Japanese Distribution Firm (DRSC).
Seizing Bitcoin From Miners – A New Transfer from Moscow
The DRSC is {an electrical} grid supplier. It transports electrical energy on distribution networks within the Amur Oblast, in Russia’s Far East.
Investigators say the person used his skilled information of his agency’s energy distribution techniques to siphon electrical energy from the grid. He used this electrical energy to energy BTC mining rigs, they add.
The SKR defined that the person was discovered “mining cryptocurrency in his personal residential constructing, utilizing his information within the discipline of technological connection to electrical networks.”
Investigators added that the person used his abilities to bypass a metering gadget in 2024. They are saying he then created an unlawful connection to his worker’s electrical grid services.
Officers estimated that the person used greater than 3.5 million rubles ($44,334) of DRSC’s electrical energy.
The SKR is Russia’s fundamental federal investigating authority and anti-corruption company. The physique stated it labored with the Federal Safety Service to safe the Bitcoin.
Police say the identical man additionally took bribes from enterprise homeowners within the Oblast. The homeowners allegedly paid the manager to approve electricity-related documentation.
Russian officers stated greater than 700,000 households have been with out electrical energy in two Ukrainian areas it partially occupies, following harm to vitality infrastructure https://t.co/UpsEEEIcKa
— Bloomberg (@enterprise) June 3, 2025
Authorized Challenges
Seizing Bitcoin and different tokens has proved difficult for investigators up to now, as BTC has no authorized standing in Russia.
Nonetheless, this could possibly be about to vary. In April this yr, ministries developed a authorized mechanism that proposes granting courts and regulation enforcers new powers to confiscate crypto in felony instances.
The measure has the assist of presidency policy-makers. If handed, it might enable officers to acknowledge cryptoassets as intangible property in felony instances.
Investigators seem to have adopted the spirit of this draft regulation in a number of high-profile instances. These embrace the server operator of the Hydra darknet portal, from whom police have seized $8.2 million value of crypto.
Bailiffs have additionally confiscated BTC 1,032 from the previous Russian Investigative Committee investigator Marat Tambiev.
A courtroom discovered the ex-investigator responsible of taking Bitcoin bribes from a world fraud community and jailed him for 16 years.
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