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The theft of mining equipment has been on the rise in Russia and several cases have been reported to the authorities. Recently a 34-year-old man has been arrested for stealing mining equipment worth $20,000.
A resident of Yaroslavl, around 250 kilometres away from the northeast of Moscow, has been found guilty of stealing mining hardware worth more than $20,000.
The 34-year old man has been found responsible for the theft. The value of the hardware in the Russian currency is 1.6 million rubles. The information was given by the regional prosecutor’s office.
As per the investigation, it has come to light that the culprit was able to manage to enter the friend’s garage this February and was able to steal the mining equipment. He tried to mint digital coins on his own but failed to set up the equipment properly.
Imprisonment for three years
As the perpetrator has admitted his guilt, the Zavolzhsky district court gave him a suspended sentence of three years with a three-year probationary period. The stolen mining rigs have been returned to the owner already.
Cryptocurrency mining has been gaining traction in Russia. The homes, garages and basements in Russia are equipped with mining equipment to mine cryptos. The popularity has grown in the Russian Federation as an additional source of income.
Since it uses relatively expensive computer equipment, a crime involving the theft of mining hardware has surged as well.
Theft on the rise
In Kursk, in early August, neighbours six rigs with thirty powerful video cards from a room used by a crypto miner. As per the report by a local news portal, the equipment valuation turned out to be 4 million rubles ($55,000). As per the police, the culprits will face imprisonment for up to seven years.
There are many similar cases reported in Irkutsk. A 21-year-old man was detained by the police for stealing mining hardware worth 120,000 rubles (over $1,600). The incident happened in June this year. He was arrested after police cracked a case in which a group of several people were responsible for the theft of around two dozen mining rigs valued at 2 million rubles ($27,000 approx).
In Russia, many regions are providing cheap electricity and have cool climate conditions, which are favourable for mining. The country has around 6.84% of the global hash rate, as per the reports. The household electricity rates are also lower in the country as compared to the rates in other countries. Hence, home crypto mining is profitable in the country.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
