A Russian Medical Specialist Mined Crypto In A Covid-19 Ward

A Russian medical specialist faces up to two years in prison after police arrested him for allegedly conducting an illegal mining operation in a coronavirus treatment center.

In Gorno-Altaisk, a city in the Altai Republic, in Southern Siberia, the specialist had been given responsibility for information security at a state-run hospital.

A Russian Medical Specialist Mined Crypto In A Covid-19 Ward

According to RBC, the individual began mining unnamed tokens in February 2021 and was successful in connecting his own mining rigs to the hospital’s system. After the city’s demand for ventilators and other similar equipment began to fade, the space appears to have been unoccupied – and the specialist appears to have taken full advantage.

The Republic’s Ministry of Internal Affairs later joined forces with the FSB, the nation’s secret services organization. The parties launched a joint raid on the hospital as well as a search of the suspect’s apartment.

The investigators said that the expert had been illegally consuming the hospital’s energy for approximately a year and that he had created material damages worth roughly USD 6,800.

Based on the facts gathered, the detectives decided to file charges against the individual.

Although cryptocurrency mining is not criminal under Russian law, police and courts have already prosecuted individuals they believe have stolen electricity from state-run institutions or the grid to fund their own private mining operations.

Japanese Miner To Leave Russia

Meanwhile, SBI Crypto, the crypto mining branch of the Japanese securities firm SBI, has stated that it would cease its crypto mining operations in Russia, according to Interfax. This follows a plea last month from Washington-based diplomats for Japanese crypto players to cut all relations with Russia.

Several Japanese mining companies have already established mining farms in Siberia, taking advantage of cheap power costs and even reduced cooling fees.

SBI had already suspended all crypto mining in Russia immediately after the outbreak of the Ukrainian war. This factor, combined with the market downturn caused by the crypto winter has led the company to a loss of 9.7 billion yen ($72 million) in the second quarter alone. This was a pre-tax loss. SBI also recorded a quarterly net loss for the first time in ten years. It was in the amount of 2.4 billion yen.

As of the time of writing, there is no information on when SBI will finally cut ties with Russia, as it has to sell off all remaining assets in the country. On the other hand, a spokesperson for the company said that SBI will retain its banking arm in Russia (SBI Bank LLC).

Read the latest crypto news.