Dutch Brothers Arrested for Stealing Electricity to Mine Bitcoin

Two brothers in the Netherlands face months in prison after allegedly siphoning power to fuel a small bitcoin mining operation, Dutch authorities say. The case dates back to 2014, when the brothers, whose names were not disclosed, are said to have been caught stealing electricity from a local utility provider in order to power bitcoin mining devices at a location in Rotterdam. Prosecutors said this week that, in total, the brothers mined roughly €200k ($223,000) worth of bitcoin prior to being caught. According to the Openbaar Ministerie, the public prosecutorial service in the....

Two brothers in Rotterdam in the Netherlands alleged to have stolen electricity to power a bitcoin mining operation in 2014 face months in prison, if prosecutors get their way. In the first case of its kind in the Netherlands, prosecutors are seeking prison time for two brothers who engaged in a bitcoin mining operation fueled by stolen electricity. According to a local news report, one of the two unnamed brothers, aged 39 and 43, owned the property where the mining operation took place. The operation took place in 2014 while prosecutors at the District Court of Rotterdam alleged yesterday....

In the past two years, law enforcement authorities in Malaysia have arrested hundreds of individuals for theft of electricity allegedly used to mint digital currencies. The country’s police force has also confiscated equipment worth millions of dollars. Malaysia Police Announce Results From Crackdown on Illegal Mining Since 2020, Malaysian authorities have detained a total of 627 people involved in crypto mining activities using stolen electrical power, the country’s Bernama news agency revealed. During the same period, law enforcement officials also seized mining....

Some Bitcoin miners have been busted for stealing electricity according to a public statement by police in Ma’anshan, a mining town in China. Very few details are provided except to state that 74 bitcoin mining units have been seized, coinciding with a small fall in difficulty of around 1.63% on June the 8th. This is the second known case of Chinese bitcoin miners stealing electricity. Last year, 200 bitcoin mining rigs were seized following investigation by Ma’anshan’s power companies and police after reports from the public suggested possible stealing behavior. The investigation found....

Four Bitcoin miners have been arrested in Charallave, Venezuela according to the spanish-language Bitcoin publication Criptonoticias. The arrest comes at a time of turmoil in Venezuela’s economy, with some individuals turning to Bitcoin. Four Venezuelans Arrested for Stealing Power to Mine Bitcoin. In the early morning of January 25, Venezuela’s director....