The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has uncovered a case of an illegal mining farm being set up in Temirtau.
According to the agency's press service, the suspect installed a complex of computing devices designed for cryptocurrency mining in metal containers on the territory of an industrial base.
During searches, law enforcement officers seized 156 units of mining equipment (ASICs) and other component devices.
It is noted that since the beginning of the year, FMA staff have uncovered 11 cases of illegal mining farms being set up, with the total criminal income amounting to nearly 440 million tenge.
"During the investigation, mining equipment worth 269 million tenge was seized, as well as digital assets worth 373 million tenge. In just two criminal cases sent to court, the total criminal income amounted to 216 million tenge," the statement said.
As part of these two cases, property worth 1.1 billion tenge and digital assets worth more than 30 million tenge were seized.
Recall that in early September, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated the need to "deal with" entrepreneurs engaged in cryptocurrency mining, who consume large amounts of electricity to the detriment of the economy and do not pay taxes accordingly.
And just 10 days after the president's address, the FMA reported that it had stopped the activities of illegal miners in the Kostanay region. The offenders consumed a volume of electricity equivalent to the needs of 3 district centres, 27 secondary schools, or 13 hospitals, placing a colossal strain on the local power grids.
Later, FMA staff completed an investigation into the organisation of a mining farm in Astana disguised as an engine processing centre. It was reported that the enterprise consumed energy comparable to the monthly needs of a residential district.
In October, two citizens who organised an underground cryptocurrency mining farm in Shymkent were convicted. The accused set up the mining farm between April 2023 and February 2024 and generated an income of more than 100 million tenge.