A raid in Malaysia last week exposed how cryptocurrency mining is becoming entangled with electricity theft and organized crime across Southeast Asia.
In Malaysia's southern state of Johor, 71 cryptocurrency-mining machines had been running around the clock across four rented premises for about a month before police moved in.
During the raids on July 22 and 23, officers arrested three suspects and seized computers, routers and vehicles alongside equipment used to illegally mine Bitcoin.
Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said the syndicate bypassed electricity meters, leading to an estimated €14,500 ($16,600) in losses in about a month, according to local media reports. The machines were thought to be generating between €17,200 and €21,500 in monthly revenue.
The case was relatively small by Malaysian standards. Between 2020 and 2025, national utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) identified almost 14,000 premises linked to electricity theft for cryptocurrency mining. Its cumulative losses reached around €1.1 billion.
