Stolen Electricity Fuels Global Crypto Mining Operations
Stolen electricity is being used to power cryptocurrency mining operations globally, with Mexico and Malaysia among those hardest hit.
In Mexico, authorities recently busted a clandestine operation in rural Puebla that was using stolen electricity from a federal hydroelectric complex to mine cryptocurrency around the clock. The operation involved 300 computers and could be connected to a larger money laundering scheme.
The problem is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, where Malaysian authorities have reported 14,000 illicit Bitcoin mining sites across the country between 2020 and 2025. This has resulted in approximately $1.1 billion worth of electricity being stolen from state-owned energy company Tenaga Nasional during this period.
Global authorities are reporting that cryptocurrency mining schemes are increasingly interlaced with organized crime, including links to online gambling, money laundering, and Southeast Asia's industrial-scale cyber scam networks.