Ukrzaliznytsya, a railway transport company that is owned by the Ukrainian government, has recently found out that one of its branches was using the company’s electricity supply to illegally mine cryptocurrencies.
According to the company’s official announcement released on Nov.15, the mining farm was discovered by officials of Ukrzaliznytsya Security Department and some law enforcement agents.
The issue was reported by the Director of Economics and Information Security at Ukrzaliznytsya, Oleg Nazarut. He said that the mining operations were organized by officials of the LVIV Railway unit of Ukrzaliznytsya.
As per the report, more than 100 pieces of equipment used in the mining of cryptocurrencies were discovered on the site where the mining farm was located. The computers were connected to the source of the company’s energy supply and were used in the illegal mining of bitcoins.
When calculating the estimated amount of energy losses that Ukrzaliznytsya has suffered since the beginning of 2019 due to the operation of these illegal miners, Nazarut said that it amounted to UAH 1 million ($40,700).
Bearing in mind that the authorities of Ukraine have prohibited the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, the case is being treated as a criminal offense, and the proceedings have already been initiated.
The adequate information and substantial evidence have also been submitted to the Ternopil Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Ternopil Oblast. The report also noted that the cost of a single bitcoin, at the time of inspection, was estimated to be over UAH 208,000 ($8,495).
In a similar development in May, Coinfomania reported that a 61-year-old Chinese grandma was convicted for stealing electricity to mine Bitcoin.
