Kokand citizen organizes illegal mining farm, misappropriates electricity worth 12 billion soums

The State Security Service has closed an unregistered cryptocurrency mining farm in the Fergana region, UzA reports.

Investigators, together with employees of the Department for Combating Economic Crimes, found a farm in one of the houses in Kokand. Its owner installed 31 Whatsminer M21S devices, fans and lamps, with a total power of 106 kilowatts.

From 2020 to 2023, the mining farm used 2.79 million kWh of electricity. The total damage to the local energy supply organization is estimated at 12.369 billion soums.

The owner of the farm was charged under paragraph “a” of Article 169-4 of the Criminal Code (theft on an especially large scale). Investigative actions are ongoing.

Nearly a month ago, another “gray” mining farm was found in Kokand, operating in a poultry workshop. It misused electricity worth 2.5 billion soums.

Since the beginning of the year, most of the “gray” farms have been found in the Navoi region – one each was closed in June, July and October. Three more illegal miners were identified in Tashkent and in the capital’s region.

Also in recent days, unauthorized miners have been discovered in Urgench and the Uzun district of Surkhandarya. In 2022, at least 7 similar cases were reported in five regions.

In September, Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law approving fines for working with crypto-assets without registration. Mining without permission is subject to a fine of 150 BCAs (49.5 million soums).

NAPP approved the registration procedure for miners in October. Later it was reported that the Senate was discussing a bill to increase liability for illegal cryptocurrency mining and violations in cyberspace.