In brief
- Malaysian police seized 45 Bitcoin mining machines worth roughly $52,145 (RM225,000), alongside other equipment.
- The illegal operation cost the Malaysian electricity provider around $8,342 (RM36,000) in monthly losses.
- Malaysia has reportedly lost $722 million (RM3.4 billion) to illegal mining, as international criminals set up shop in the region.
Malaysian police have cracked down on yet another illegal Bitcoin mining operation, this time in the Hulu Terengganu and Marang districts in the northeast of the country.
According to local news outlet Malay Mail, the raids on two separate premises led to the seizure of 45 Bitcoin mining machines worth roughly $52,145 (RM225,000), alongside other equipment.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin estimated that the electricity theft cost Tenaga Nasional—Malaysia’s only electricity company—around $8,342 (RM36,000) in monthly losses.
Mohd Khairi said in a statement that the syndicates behind the illegal mining operation are believed to have operated from residential and commercial properties, using electricity from the local grid illegally.
The operation was carried out in collaboration with Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s (TNB) Special Engagement Against Losses (SEAL) unit. The police chief said no arrests were made during the crackdown itself, but all the seized items were taken to the appropriate district police headquarters for further investigation.
Bitcoin mining is legal in Malaysia. However, tampering with the grid’s electricity connectivity is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $21,500 (RM100,000.)
Illegal Bitcoin mining plagues Southeast Asia
Illegal Bitcoin mining operations, which siphon energy from the national grids, are a growing problem in East and Southeast Asia.
A 2025 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that international criminal groups operating in the region are attracted to Bitcoin mining as it allows them to circumvent anti-money laundering laws compared to more traditional forms of crime. A Bloomberg report from last year indicated that China’s decision to ban Bitcoin mining in 2021 may have helped to push this type of illegal activity into Southeast Asia.
This trend has had real-world consequences for Malaysia before. In February of this year, an explosion in the Bandar Puncak Alam city, Malaysia, revealed a nine-rig illegal Bitcoin mining operation.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the country’s deputy energy transition and water transformation minister, told Malay Mail in July 2024 that illegal crypto mining has cost the country at least $722 million (RM3.4 billion) in electricity costs between 2018 and 2023.
Neighboring Thailand has also had its fair share of high-profile crypto mining crackdowns, including one involving 1,000 machines earlier this year thought to have stolen $3 million from the nation’s grid.
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