Energy chiefs stole electrical energy from the state-owned Russian Railways to function non-public crypto mining rigs, prosecutors in St. Petersburg have claimed.
The Russian information company Interfax reported on September 17 {that a} court docket within the metropolis has ordered the arrest the top of a Russian Railways (RZD) energy division, alongside along with his deputy.
The Smolninsky District Court docket dominated that Sergei Kuznetsov, the top of the RZD’s St Petersburg-Finlyandsky Station Electrical energy Provide Division, and his deputy Nikolai Baltser, ought to stay in custody till November 15.
The station is likely one of the greatest and most necessary rail transport hubs within the nation.
Russian Railways Staffers ‘Mined Crypto at Energy Substations’
Prosecutors say the duo stole almost 1 billion rubles (over $12 million) price of energy from their employer to energy crypto mining rigs.
The duo has been charged with abuse of power-related offenses. However police assume they didn’t act alone. Investigators mentioned an as-yet “unidentified mastermind” paid Kuznetsov and Baltzer.
Officers say the mastermind used this support to “faucet Russian Railways facility assets for energy-intensive mining.”
This mastermind, police assume, belongs to an organized legal group that additionally contains different RZD workers.
Police mentioned they discovered crypto mining rigs “illegally put in on the Gromovo and Lugovaya substations.” Each substations are related to the RZD’s central energy grid.
The rigs operated undetected from September 16, 2024, till they had been found on September 16 this 12 months, officers added.
Bitcoin hash fee hits document 1.12B TH/s as community problem surges with miners holding reserves at 50-day peak concentrating on $117K.#Bitcoin #Mininghttps://t.co/s5H5BVLltf
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) September 12, 2025
Crypto Mining: On the Rise in St. Petersburg?
Prosecutors say they imagine that arrestees had been “conscious” that the rigs would require an “uncontrolled consumption {of electrical} vitality.”
The suspects additionally reportedly understood that their actions had been a violation of RDZ’s property rights. In addition they knew that this may “hurt the reliable pursuits of their employer,” prosecutors added.
Prosecution officers reported that Kuznetsov “instantly started cooperating” with the pretrial investigation upon his arrest.
Nevertheless, each defendants mentioned they objected to being taken into custody. Kuznetsov and Baltzer each mentioned that they had no intention of making an attempt to flee forward of their trials.
Earlier this month, Russian electronics retailers reported that demand for crypto mining {hardware} in St. Petersburg and the encompassing area is now the third highest within the nation.
Proof seems to counsel that some miners are leaving conventional Bitcoin mining hotspots in Southern Siberia and the North Caucasus in favor of bigger city areas.
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