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 keeping 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 gear.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin estimated that the electrical energy theft value Tenaga Nasional—Malaysia’s solely electrical energy firm—round $8,342 (RM36,000) in month-to-month losses.
Mohd Khairi stated in an announcement 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 Towards Losses (SEAL) unit. The police chief stated no arrests had been made through the crackdown itself, however all of the seized gadgets had 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 effective 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 drawback in East and Southeast Asia.
A 2025 report from the United Nations Workplace on Medicine and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that worldwide felony teams working within the area are interested in Bitcoin mining because it permits them to avoid anti-money laundering legal guidelines in comparison with extra conventional types of crime. A Bloomberg report from final 12 months indicated that China’s choice to ban Bitcoin mining in 2021 might have helped to push the sort of criminal activity into Southeast Asia.
This development has had real-world penalties for Malaysia earlier than. In February of this 12 months, 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, informed Malay Mail in July 2024 that unlawful crypto mining has value the nation at the very least $722 million (RM3.4 billion) in electrical energy prices between 2018 and 2023.
Neighboring Thailand has additionally had its justifiable share of high-profile crypto mining crackdowns, together with one involving 1,000 machines earlier this 12 months thought to have stolen $3 million from the nation’s grid.
