A former electric‐grid executive in Russia has lost roughly ₽7 million (about $88,570) in Bitcoin after law enforcement agents seized his stash.
He allegedly bypassed a metering device in 2024, stealing more than ₽3.5 million (around $44,334) worth of electricity to mine about 0.8414 BTC.
The operation came to light when officers from Russia’s main federal investigating body, working with the Federal Security Service, raided his property and took control of his digital wallet.
Based on reports from the Amur branch of the Far Eastern Distribution Company, investigators tracked unusual power usage at the former executive’s residence.
They say he made an illegal connection to his employer’s grid facilities and hid the extra load from meters. When agents moved in, they found multiple mining rigs set up in his residential building. Those machines had already produced roughly 0.8414 BTC, which was valued at about ₽7 million at the time of seizure.
According to investigators, the man tapped into DRSC’s distribution network without permission. He avoided regular billing by rerouting power lines and tricking meters. Over time, this added up to more than ₽3.5 million in stolen electricity bills.
In addition to crypto mining, officers discovered he had taken bribes from local business owners, who paid him to speed up approvals for power‐related documents.
If that bill becomes law, courts could more easily order the seizure of Bitcoin and other digital tokens. Until then, investigators have been relying on existing anti‐theft and anti‐corruption statutes to confiscate crypto, as seen when they nabbed $8.2 million worth of crypto from a Hydra darknet operator or seized 1,032 BTC (roughly $88.5 million at today’s rates) from a former SKR investigator found guilty of taking bribes in Bitcoin.
Based on reports, federal agencies believe that tapping the grid for free power has become a common trick among local miners—especially in remote regions where oversight is weaker.
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
