Deniz 
Local media sources state that seven people reportedly engaged in bitcoin mining activities, including electricity theft, have been apprehended by Malaysian police.
The national news agency of the nation, Bernama, reported on Saturday that last week, three local citizens and four foreign individuals were seized and imprisoned separately under suspicion of stealing electricity to run their bitcoin mining activities.
According to the newspaper, Sepang District Police Chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof noted that these people had no past criminal histories, and the police sought to “detect illegal bitcoin mining activity that involved electricity theft.”
The local police also mentioned that they confiscated 52 bitcoin mining facilities and other electronic equipment, with an approximate worth of 250,000 Malaysian Ringgits (57.000$).
The law enforcement activity coincided with a larger campaign against power theft related to bitcoin miners. Deputy energy transition and water transformation minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir claimed last month that between 2018 and 2023, crypto miners in Malaysia pilfered at least RM3.4 billion ($777 million) worth of electricity.
From China, which outlawed all crypto mining operations in 2021, crypto mining activities have progressively shifted to the U.S. and other countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, and Thailand. For miners, the Southeast Asian countries appeal because of their competitive electricity rates, trained workforce, and current infrastructure.
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