After being discovered by authorities for reportedly running an illegal mining setup in a hospital ward used to treat coronavirus patients, a Russian medical specialist might face up to two years in jail.
Gorno-Altaisk had been assigned to be in charge of information security at a state-run hospital located in a Southern Siberian town.
The individual reportedly started mining unspecified tokens in February 2021 and connected his personal mining vehicles to the facility’s server. The used rooms appear to be unoccupied as the city’s need for ventilators and similar equipment gradually decline — which is a circumstance that the specialist used to his advantage.
The FSB, the nation’s secret services agency, eventually teamed up with the Republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs to launch a raid on the hospital, and conduct the suspect’s home.
The investigators asserted that they discovered the specialist had “caused material damages” totaling roughly $6,800 by “illegally using” the facility’s electricity “for nearly a year”.
Based on the evidence they gathered, the investigators made the decision to file charges against the specialist.
Under Russian law, crypto mining is not at all illegal. But in the past, the police and the courts have taken severe actions against individuals suspected of stealing electricity or grid from state-run organizations in order to finance their own personal mining operations.
Likewise, SBI Crypto, the crypto mining division of the Japanese securities giant SBI, has made an announcement that it will stop operating crypto mining activities in Russia. This comes in response to a request made by officials from Washington last month to encourage Japanese crypto enthusiasts to cut all ties with Russia.
In the past, several Japanese mining firms had established mining farms in Siberia, making use of the low power costs and even lower fees for cooling.
