Electricity Theft for Mining Coins

Bitcoin Miners Caught by Police in Saxony/Germany

picture: Staatsanwaltschaft Zwickau

Often Cryptocurrencies are seen in connection with crimes. Not only because of their use in the dark world of the Internet but also because of the temptation to get a hand on those beloved coins. You can hack some wallets or mine them yourself. But then you have to invest in equipment and energy, especially if you mine your coins in Europe, more precisely, in Germany where the price of electricity is quite expensive. With an average electricity price of around 29 cents per kilowatt/hour, you would have to pay a lot. But even in locations with less high energy prices, mining operators are coming under increasing pressure because cryptocurrencies have lost significant value over the past year.

Unusually high power consumption led investigators on the track of electricity thieves, which have used the energy for mining Bitcoin and other coins. Five men and one woman are suspected in Saxony, to have mined cryptocurrencies with stolen electricity since the beginning of 2017. The unspecified electricity consumption was about 390,500 kWh (30 normal households, which equals 220,000 Euros.)

Tuesday last week investigators searched in eight objects in Vogtland and Zwickau where they discovered computer systems for mining. The power came from an electrical installation, which bypassed the electricity meter. A total of 121 officials were involved in the investigation.

According to the Zwickau public prosecutor's office, a total of 49 computers were used, 30 of which were "special mining computers", ie ASIC-based hardware, and 80 graphics cards were also in operation.

Three people were provisionally arrested and the hardware was confiscated. Until now nothing is known about the amount of mined coins. The miners could face fines or imprisonment for up to five years on charges of electrical energy theft.