Electricity theft used to power illegal cryptocurrency mining is becoming a global issue. According to OilPrice.com, such schemes are being uncovered in both developing and advanced economies, though the problem appears especially severe where grid oversight is weaker.
In one of the latest cases, Mexican authorities uncovered a clandestine crypto mining site in rural Puebla, where 300 computers had been operating around the clock. Officials said the facility was drawing power through an illegal connection to a federal hydroelectric complex and may have been tied to a broader money-laundering operation.
Francisco Sánchez, head of Puebla’s Public Security Secretariat, told reporters that this kind of activity consumes large amounts of electricity and generates significant noise, which is why operators tend to choose isolated and remote locations. He said the site’s proximity to the Nuevo Necaxa dam and the unusually large power connection raised suspicions.
Authorities in Mexico see the case as part of a much broader challenge. The Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, is leading a nationwide crackdown on power theft. The article says that from January to July 2024, losses linked to electricity theft, meter tampering and illegal hookups totaled 6,346 GWh, equivalent to roughly 13.8 billion pesos, or about $817 million.
The issue extends far beyond Mexico. In Malaysia, police identified 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining sites between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, miners are estimated to have stolen about $1.1 billion worth of electricity from state utility Tenaga Nasional.
Malaysian officials say the fallout is not only financial. Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the deputy minister of energy transition and water transformation, previously warned that such activity can damage infrastructure and pose a challenge to the country’s wider power system.
The report also says illegal crypto mining is increasingly intersecting with organized crime. DW reported that authorities are finding links to online gambling, money laundering and large-scale cyber scam networks across Southeast Asia.
In Cambodia, crypto-related activity has been linked to forced labor operations. In Kyrgyzstan, sometimes referred to as Cryptostan because of the number of mines exploiting subsidized electricity rates, police say virtual assets are being folded into criminal infrastructure involving cyber fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and the concealment and movement of illicit funds.
The article argues that for every illegal mining operation that is found and shut down, many more likely remain undetected, especially in poorer countries that have fewer resources to identify theft and can least afford the losses.
