In the Tyumen region, police uncovered a large mining farm: a large family is suspected of abusing benefits for mining and disguising cryptocurrency mining as ordinary household electricity consumption.
What Was Found in the Nizhnetavdinsky District
The inspection took place in the Nizhnetavdinsky district. According to investigators and energy specialists, the villagers used a preferential rate intended for large families, but in fact directed the cheap electricity to mining.
Criminal cases were initiated against six villagers under the article on causing property damage. Gazprom Energosbyt Tyumen did not disclose the amount of damage, but emphasized that it involved consumption at a socially reduced price.
From the site where the hidden crypto farm operated, law enforcement officers seized about 2,000 devices for mining digital assets.
Similar Farms Found in Other Villages
Energy specialists also reported a similar case in the village of Isetskoye in the same district: cryptocurrency mining equipment was found right in the home of a large family. Another location was found in the village of Mezenka in the Ishimsky district, where a man set up a farm in his own garage.
Such inspections are usually triggered by a chain of events:
- Reports from local residents.
- Complaints about unusually high consumption in private homes and outbuildings.
- Inspections by energy specialists and law enforcement.
How Rates Are Set in the Region
The Tyumen region has a differentiated electricity payment system. The price depends on monthly consumption:
- Up to 3,900 kWh.
- From 3,901 to 6,000 kWh.
- Over 6,000 kWh.
For large families, starting in 2025, the lowest rate of the first range applies even when the household consumes more than 3,900 kWh per month. According to energy specialists, this benefit may have been used not for household needs but for operating mining equipment.
Why the Case Matters for the Mining Market
According to the energy sales company, more than 30 cases of gray mining were identified in the Tyumen region over the past year. At the same time, cryptocurrency mining itself is allowed in the region, so the claims are not about the fact of mining as such, but about the procedure for paying for electricity and possible damages.
For Russia, such stories are becoming part of a broader discussion about how mining, cryptocurrency, digital currency, and taxation should be combined. In the legal field, both the Federal Law of the Russian Federation regulating the circulation of digital assets and the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which assesses the tax consequences of income, are important.
If mining is conducted as a business activity, various tax obligations may arise:
- Profit tax.
- Personal income tax.
- Value-added tax.
- Other obligations.
The Federal Tax Service of Russia monitors their fulfillment, and the specific tax depends on the participant’s status and the nature of the operations.
Earlier, a resident of Chapayevsk in the Samara region was sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor for illegal mining. According to the prosecution, the energy sales company suffered damages of more than 91 million rubles.
