In a recent crackdown, Indonesian police authorities have closed down 10 Bitcoin mining operations, accusing the organizers of electricity theft amounting to nearly $1 million. The North Sumatra Police Force took decisive action against a multi-site Bitcoin mining operation across 10 locations in Indonesia. During the operation, law enforcement confiscated 1,134 Bitcoin mining machines along with 11 meters of electrical cable and computer equipment.
According to Chief of North Sumatra Police, Irjen Agung Setya Imam Effendi, the organizers of the mining operation had tampered with electrical circuits to siphon off power for their substantial number of Bitcoin mining machines. Effendi stated, “As we can see here, this is the PLN box. However, the electricity flow inside it is not the proper flow that should enter the box and be measured by the meter. Instead, what they took is the upper part, where electricity is taken directly from the pole and channeled inside.”
The authorities estimate that the total loss from these 10 locations due to electricity theft amounts to 14.4 billion Indonesian rupiahs, equivalent to approximately $935,666. This move follows the recent sentencing of a Chinese government official, Yi Xiao, to life in prison for facilitating access to electricity for Bitcoin miners.
Yi Xiao, former vice chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference Party Group, was convicted of abuse of power in a Bitcoin mining enterprise. Operating under the corporate name Jiumu Group Genesis Technology from 2017 to 2021, Xiao managed a $329 million Bitcoin mining enterprise. He, along with other corporate executives, amassed over 160,000 Bitcoin miners, consuming an astonishing 10% of the city of Fuzhou’s entire electricity supply at one point. The crackdown in Indonesia aligns with a global trend of authorities intensifying efforts to regulate and monitor cryptocurrency activities, especially those leading to unauthorized power consumption.
