SEPANG, 12 Aug 2020:
Authorities raided 26 premises carrying out cryptocurrency activities around the Sepang district today on suspicion of stealing electricity through illegal installations.
The integrated operation, led by the Energy Commission (ST), also involved the Special Engagement Against Losses (SEAL) unit of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Sepang Municipal Council (MPS), Communications and Multimedia Commission, Sepang District Police Headquarters and National Water Services Commission.
ST chief operating officer Abdul Rahim Ibrahim said the raids were conducted to investigate if they had committed any acts that violated the Electricity Supply Act 1990.
Among them were offences under Section 37 (1), which is interfering with electrical installations that may cause danger; and Section 37 (3), which is connecting electricity supply illegally and damaging electrical installations that may cause electricity supply not to be recorded, he told reporters at Sunsuria City here, which was one of the earlier locations raided under the operation.
TNB officials, who took part in the operation, said that by stealing electricity through illegal connections, among others, these cryptocurrency premises ended up paying only RM30 in electricity bills when, in fact, their monthly consumption reached RM30,000.
Meanwhile, MPS president Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim said in a statement that all 26 premises raided were sealed and compounded for running unlicensed businesses and making changes to parts of the buildings. A total of 3,120 bitcoin machines were seized from all the premises raided, he said.
In SIBU, five cryptocurrency mining operators here have been caught stealing electricity supply worth at least RM250,000 a month, Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) disclosed today.
It said the illegal activities of these operators were discovered during a joint operation mounted by SEB together with the Electrical Inspectorate Unit (EIU) from Sarawak Ministry of Utilities and the police recently.
Over the course of the two-day operation, the illegal activity was uncovered at mining centres located in four different shophouses at Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, Jalan Pahlawan and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.
“At all premises, it was found that unsafe direct tapping cables from the main incoming supply hidden in the gypsum ceiling that were connected straight to the electrical appliances, bypassing the meter and avoiding actual electricity consumption measurements,” it said in a statement.
Checks revealed the monthly bills for all the five shophouses amounted to just about RM800 to RM1,000 despite having mining servers operating round the clock.
“Actual load readings taken on site showed that all five premises were consuming at least RM250,000 worth of electricity per month.”
Five police reports were lodged and all unsafe connections were removed and seized as evidence. The premise owners would also be called to assist in the investigations.
EIU together with SEB had investigated about 50 electricity theft cases relating to cryptocurrency mining operators in the state since 2018. These cases are now pending prosecution by Sarawak State Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Stealing electricity is a criminal offence under Section 33 (5) of the Sarawak Electricity Ordinance, which carries a penalty of up to RM100,000 and/or five years’ imprisonment.
The public is encouraged to report any suspicious activity to Sarawak Energy’s customer care centre at 1300-88-3111 or email [email protected].
– Bernama