Canadian bitcoin mining company Link Global faces $ 5.6 million fine

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Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange, faces potential major penalties for operating unauthorized power plants in the province of Alberta.

The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the regulator of the province’s electric utilities, issued another application on September 24 against Link Global, with enforcement staff recommending several sanctions in violation of Alberta legislative requirements.

According to a document shared with Cointelegraph, AUC enforcement staff recommended Link Global pay an economic restitution of approximately $ 2 million Canadian (CAD) ($ 1.6 million) for financial gains from illegal electricity production.

The regulator is seeking more than C $ 5 million ($ 4 million) from Link Globals Bitcoin mining operations, based on AUC calculations of Link Globals’ alleged gross economic benefits for two factories. In addition, the AUC is asking for an additional 81,000 CAD ($ 64,000) in two administrative penalties.

According to the document, AUC estimated the economic benefit of Link Globals based on the more conservative build rate of 1.2 Bitcoins per day and the more conservative 95,000 TH of computing power versus 10 MW. The authority noted that Link Globals’ revenue stream is primarily based on hosting or selling electricity to third-party digital asset miners, with a smaller proportion of revenue from self-mining activities. .

The report and recommendations from enforcement staff are only part of the information that will be assessed and considered by the AUC Panel of Tribunal members, a spokesperson for the AUC told Cointelegraph. ‘AUC. Link Global has received an extension until October 14, 2021, as the deadline for filing its response. All of this information will be considered in an oral hearing before a final decision is made. The date of this hearing has not yet been set, said the representative.

Following the AUC’s submission, Link Global CEO Stephen Jenkins then released a statement on September 30, saying the company had admitted wrongdoing and worked hard to rectify the mistakes:

Our company strives to respect the law, people and the environment, and we believe our submission to the AUC will make this obvious. […] I apologize to our shareholders who do not deserve this. We will work tirelessly to ensure that the result is positive.

Related: Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Rises 31% Since July

Link Global did not immediately respond to Cointelegraphs request for comment.

If enforced, the disgorgement would mark only the second disgorgement penalty the AUC has ever imposed after approving a C $ 56 million settlement for power producer TransAlta Corporation in 2015.

As previously reported, AUC initially asked Link Global to shut down operations in late August after local residents complained about noise from a nearby power plant.

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