Malaysian police have cracked down on one more unlawful Bitcoin mining operation, this time within the Hulu Terengganu and Marang districts within the northeast of the nation.
In line with native information outlet Malay Mail, the raids on two separate premises led to the seizure of 45 Bitcoin mining machines price roughly $52,145 (RM225,000), alongside different tools.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin estimated that the electrical energy theft price Tenaga Nasional—Malaysia’s solely electrical energy firm—round $8,342 (RM36,000) in month-to-month losses.
Mohd Khairi mentioned in a press release that the syndicates behind the unlawful mining operation are believed to have operated from residential and industrial properties, utilizing electrical energy from the native grid illegally.
The operation was carried out in collaboration with Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) Particular Engagement In opposition to Losses (SEAL) unit. The police chief mentioned no arrests have been made throughout the crackdown itself, however all of the seized gadgets have been taken to the suitable district police headquarters for additional investigation.
Bitcoin mining is authorized in Malaysia. Nevertheless, tampering with the grid’s electrical energy connectivity is punishable by as much as 5 years’ imprisonment and/or a tremendous of as much as $21,500 (RM100,000.)
Unlawful Bitcoin mining plagues Southeast Asia
Unlawful Bitcoin mining operations, which siphon power from the nationwide grids, are a rising downside in East and Southeast Asia.
A 2025 report from the United Nations Workplace on Medication and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that worldwide prison teams working within the area are drawn to Bitcoin mining because it permits them to bypass anti-money laundering legal guidelines in comparison with extra conventional types of crime. A Bloomberg report from final yr indicated that China’s resolution to ban Bitcoin mining in 2021 might have helped to push any such criminal activity into Southeast Asia.
This pattern has had real-world penalties for Malaysia earlier than. In February of this yr, an explosion within the Bandar Puncak Alam metropolis, Malaysia, revealed a nine-rig unlawful Bitcoin mining operation.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the nation’s deputy power transition and water transformation minister, instructed Malay Mail in July 2024 that unlawful crypto mining has price the nation at the least $722 million (RM3.4 billion) in electrical energy prices between 2018 and 2023.
Neighboring Thailand has additionally had its fair proportion of high-profile crypto mining crackdowns, together with one involving 1,000 machines earlier this yr thought to have stolen $3 million from the nation’s grid.
