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MIRI – The police, with the assistance of power company Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) successfully busted two major illegal cryptocurrency trading syndicates in Kuching yesterday.
Padawan District Police Chief Supt Abang Zainal Abidin Ahmad said in a press statement that they stole around RM1.4 million worth of electricity over the past few months.
“Investigations found they operated their illegal businesses on the premises and they had used stolen electricity worth at least RM1.4 mil in recent months,” he said.
The police and SEB teams had raided premises located in Jalan Penrissen and Jalan Siburan yesterday, nailing the illegal traders.
More than a hundred machines used for illegal cryptocurrency transactions were seized, along with other items.
The owners of these premises are also being investigated.
Illegal cryptocurrency operations have been mushrooming throughout Sarawak, with blatant electricity tapping by these syndicates causing huge losses to SEB.
The power company had lost RM43 million in lost revenues due to these illegal cryptocurrency operators.
Since January last year, there had been 72 illegal cryptocurrency operations uncovered by the SEB in joint operations with the police and local authorities, with 46 found in Miri.
The fact that these operations require tremendous amounts of electricity, has triggered power disruptions in residential and commercial centres, as well as 11 incidents of major fire outbreaks.
The utility body warned that it will carry out more intensive crackdowns to tackle these mushrooming Bitcoin syndicates and is coordinating with the authorities.
Offenders will be dealt with severely, it said, with penalties of up to RM100,000 fine and five years jail upon conviction under the Sarawak Electricity Ordinance. – The Vibes, May 20, 2022