Indonesian authorities have recently cracked down on a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation, reportedly for illegally using electricity. Police forces in North Sumatra conducted raids across 10 different locations, seizing a total of 1,134 Bitcoin mining rigs, along with 11 meters of cables and various computer equipment. This action was reported by local media.
The police chief of North Sumatra, Irjen Agung Setya Imam Effendi, explained that the individuals behind this operation had manipulated electrical circuits to power numerous Bitcoin mining machines without proper metering. He described an instance where the electricity was being drawn directly from power lines, bypassing the official metering systems. The estimated loss from this electricity theft across the 10 locations is believed to be around 14.4 billion Indonesian rupiah, which is roughly $935,666.
In a related international incident, Yi Xiao, a former high-ranking Chinese government official, was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a Bitcoin mining operation that misused electricity. Xiao, who previously served as the vice chairman of the Party Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was found guilty by the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court of abusing his power to support a Bitcoin mining venture.
Operating under the company name Jomoo Group Chuangshi Technology, Xiao's operation reportedly ran from 2017 to 2021, involving a substantial investment of 2.4 billion yuan (about $329 million). The enterprise had accumulated over 160,000 Bitcoin mining machines, which at one point were using 10% of the entire electricity supply of Fuzhou, a significant strain on the local power grid.
