bne IntelliNews – Illegal crypto farm busted as government urges Albanians to save energy

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Three people were arrested for mining cryptocurrency using stolen electricity on January 21 as Albanian authorities seek to reduce electricity waste during the country’s energy crisis.

Along with the other Western Balkan countries, Kosovo and North Macedonia, Albania is grappling with high international energy prices. The country depends almost entirely on hydroelectric generation and must import electricity in times of low production.

The cold spell in Albania has increased the demand for electricity in the country, prompting the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku, to urge citizens to use energy with caution to avoid a possible energy crisis .

As Albanians battle extreme weather conditions, Albanian State Police announced on January 21 that they discovered a base used for crypto mining in the port city of Durres using a fake electrical circuit to avoid paying for energy.

During the police operation codenamed “CRYPTOFARM”, police seized hundreds of devices from two crypto labs, according to a statement posted on Facebook.

Police estimated that the group spent around €1 million to set up the crypto farms.

Among the items seized were 631 electrical devices for the production of cryptocurrency, 630 solar panels, 260 electronic power supply devices, 71 data processing computers, 71 temporary data storage racks, 71 external hard drives and 71 devices. electronic temperature stabilization.

Three arrests have been made and four other people are wanted by the police. The detainees were not named and were only identified by their initials. A 36-year-old man and a 26-year-old man from Tirana were arrested, as well as a 23-year-old man from Lushnje. They face charges of computer fraud and concealment of income.

In neighboring Kosovo, the government recently decided to ban cryptocurrency mining in response to the energy crisis and power shortages during the winter months, as cryptocurrency mining uses significant amounts electricity to power computers that solve cryptographic equations to be rewarded with coins.

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