Russian authorities are stepping up their crackdown on illegal Bitcoin miners with a new confiscation case.
Law enforcement in Russia has launched a seizure campaign against unauthorized mining operations, marking an escalation in the fight against illicit crypto activity. The latest case saw investigators in the Amur Oblast confiscate bitcoin worth $88,500.
The Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee (SKR) for Amur Oblast announced it had seized assets worth around 7 million rubles ($88,570; 0.8414 BTC) from a former executive of an unnamed power company.
The accused served as head of technological connection services at the Amur branch of the Far Eastern Distribution Company (DRSC), a power grid operator managing electricity distribution in Russia’s eastern Amur region.
Investigators found that the former executive exploited his insider knowledge of the company’s power distribution systems to siphon electricity from the grid. The stolen power was used to run mining equipment at his private residence.
The seizure followed an investigation revealing that in 2024, the man used his technical skills to bypass metering devices and create an illegal connection to his employer’s infrastructure.
Authorities estimate that the executive used over 3.5 million rubles ($44,334) worth of electricity belonging to DRSC.
In April, several Russian ministries drafted a legal mechanism proposing new powers for courts and law enforcement to confiscate cryptocurrencies in criminal cases. The proposal, backed by government policymakers, would allow authorities to formally recognize digital assets as intangible property in criminal proceedings.
Previous seizures
Investigators appear to have already applied the principles of this draft law in several cases. Among them is the case of a server operator for the darknet marketplace Hydra, from whom police seized crypto assets worth $8.2 million.
Judicial officers also seized 1,032.1 BTC from Marat Tambiev, a former investigator with the Russian Investigative Committee. A court found Tambiev guilty of accepting Bitcoin bribes from an international fraud network, sentencing him to 16 years in prison.
