The Department of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) of the East Kazakhstan Region has uncovered the illegal sale of electricity worth more than 9 billion tenge.
According to the agency's press service, under the law, the sale of electricity to mining enterprises is only permitted through a single state purchaser in a volume of no more than 1 megawatt-hour.
Despite this, a group of energy supply companies in the region illegally supplied electricity intended for the needs of the population, social facilities, and strategic enterprises to mining enterprises over the course of two years.
The volume of consumed electricity exceeded 50 megawatt-hours, which is comparable to the energy consumption of a town with a population of 50,000 to 70,000 people.
With the criminal proceeds, the organisers purchased two apartments in Astana and four cars. Property was seized by court order. The investigation is ongoing.
It is worth recalling that in September, the AFM investigated a criminal case concerning the illegal mining of digital assets on the territory of Astana without the appropriate licence.
The suspects set up a mining farm in Astana under the guise of an engine processing centre, consuming energy comparable to the monthly consumption of a residential district. The value of the digital assets mined over two years exceeded 143 million tenge.