Bitcoin mining contributes to massive electricity theft in Malaysia: report

According to a report by a Malaysian news outlet, MalayMail, Bitcoin and crypto-mining operations were primarily responsible for massive electricity theft in the country between 2018 and 2023.

Despite the crackdown, crypto mining and general services are not illegal in the Asian country.

Bitcoin mining using stolen energy

Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the Deputy Minister for Energy Transition and Water Transformation in Malaysia, noted that between 2018 and 2023, the country lost about RM3.4 billion ($723 million) due to the unauthorized electricity supply for crypto mining.

Akmal Nasir was speaking at an event where more than 2,000 pieces of equipment seized in a crackdown in October 2022 were disposed of. According to the report, this equipment, valued at about $467,000, did not have ST security certificates. T Area Operations and Control Director Ismail Zaili Yusop and ST Operations Director Dr. were present during this event. V Sanjayan.

The ministry’s deputy director noted that electricity theft activities are not only bad for Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), but also for the people and the country in general. He said:

“Electricity theft by cryptocurrency miners occurs because they believe that this activity cannot be detected due to the absence of meters in their facilities. However, energy companies have several methods of detecting unusual energy consumption in an area.”

He mentioned that the deputy prosecutor ordered the removal of these items “in accordance with sections 406A and 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure” after the completion of the judicial and compound process.

Akmal Nasir mentioned that the ministry is prioritizing efforts to combat electricity theft while strengthening green and clean energy production.

The deputy minister also shared a post on the X platform highlighting the irony of electricity theft running into hundreds of millions and sometimes billions in a country that says it is implementing an energy transition agenda to add new sources of energy.

Akmal noted that during disposal, the goods will be disposed of strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Quality Act, 1974 and the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations, 2005.

Crypto and non-illegal mining

Despite the crackdown, which began in August 2019, crypto and mining are not illegal in Malaysia. However, according to an article from Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi MARA, “the act of stealing electricity to mine cryptocurrency is illegal.”

The document proposed that the Malaysian government create and adopt an appropriate framework that miners must comply with to curb electricity theft.

Not only cryptominers, but also general crypto service providers such as some exchanges have fallen foul of the Malaysian authorities. For example, Huobi Global was forced to shut down services in Malaysia because they were not properly registered.

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