At Least 1,000 Lawsuits Filed Against Crypto Miners in Russia’s Irkutsk Region
Lawsuit No. 1000 has been filed by Siberian Irkutsk Oblast electricity distributors against consumers illegally mining cryptocurrency in residential areas. Of this, in 600, the judge ruled that the so-called “grey” miners must be paid more than 260 million rubles ($3.5 million) as compensation for damages. Regional news portal Irk.ru reported that the most common reason for going to court is abnormal use of electricity and recently such a case happened with the owner of the house in the village of Novaya Razvodnaya, which during 1 year The average power consumption had now reached 80,000 kilowatts, which appears to be more than the total burned by the other 15 houses on the same road. The man denied anything and claimed that he did not mine crypto, but used a heat gun to dry out his basement. The Irkutsk Regional Court did not accept his explanation, and as a result he must pay more than 2 million rubles (about $27,000) to the local electricity utility, Irkutskenergosbyt, and pay subsidized electricity rates for domestic purposes. This difference can be as low as $0.01 per kWh in rural districts and require much higher tariffs for businesses to contribute.
So of course in a few years the authorities are trying to crack down on domestic crypto mining in this area which has become a popular source of income for an increasing number of people. Officials believe that the regulation of mining in Russia and the introduction of separate teams on the basis of consumption will help in finding a solution to this issue and definitely some solution will be found under it.
It was reported in December by the Russian press, citing Deputy Energy Ministry Pavel Snickers, that electricity distribution companies have begun to identify makeshift mining farms in residential buildings with increased loads on grade at substations and that they are now illegal miners. Prosecuting those who misuse mining. While crypto mining activities in Russia have yet to be regulated and there is a bill under review in parliament that does not currently explicitly prohibit this type of movement. Furthermore, utilities may still try to prove in court that these consumers are not using the electricity for domestic needs and request that they be charged commercial rates.
