Malaysian police crack down on yet another illegal Bitcoin Mining This time, it will be operated in the Hulu Terengganu and Marang districts in the northeastern part of the country.
According to local news outlets Murray Mailattacks at two separate facilities led to 45 seized. Bitcoin Along with other equipment, this mining machine worth around $52,145 (RM225,000).
Terengganu Police Chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin estimated that national power in power theft – Malaysia’s only utility will take on $8,342 (RM36,000) in Millie losses.
Mohd Khairi said in a statement that the syndicate behind the illegal mining operations is believed to be operating from residential and commercial properties using illegal power from local grids.
This operation was carried out in cooperation with the Special Involvement (SEAL) Unit in the Loss of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). The police chief said no arrests were made during the crackdown itself, but all seized items were taken to appropriate district police headquarters for further investigation.
Bitcoin mining is legal in Malaysia. However, tampering with grid power connections could result in penalty by imprisonment for up to five years and/or fines up to $21,500 (RM100,000).
Illegal Bitcoin mining plagues Southeast Asia
Energy sucked up from the National Grid is the illegal Bitcoin mining work that has become a problem in East and Southeast Asia.
A 2025 report from the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlights that international criminal groups operating in the region are attracted to Bitcoin mining because they can avoid anti-money laundering laws compared to more traditional forms of crime. a Bloomberg Reports from last year show that China’s decision to ban Bitcoin mining in 2021 may have helped push this type of illegality into Southeast Asia.
This trend has previously brought real-world consequences to Malaysia. In February of this year, an explosion in Bandarpankak Alam City, Malaysia, revealed 9 Rig’s illegal Bitcoin mining operations.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Change, said Murray Mail In July 2024, illegal crypto mining costed electricity at least $722 million (RM3.4 billion) between 2018 and 2023.
Nearby Thailand also had a significant share of the repression of prominent crypto mining, including what was believed to have stolen $3 million from the country’s grid earlier this year.
