Dagestan under attack: 52 illegal mining farms eliminated, damage to power grids exceeds 129 million rubles
A large-scale operation to clean up the shadow crypto mining sector in Dagestan has yielded impressive results. Since the beginning of 2026, specialists from the energy company "Rosseti Severny Kavkaz" have managed to identify and neutralize 52 underground mining farms. During the raids, 968 pieces of equipment for digital asset mining were seized, and five criminal cases were opened regarding electricity theft.
Damage to grids exceeds 129 million rubles
The scale of shadow consumption is striking. Illegal farms account for about 2.7 million kWh of stolen energy resources—this is more than 13% of the total volume of stolen electricity in the region. The court has already issued one verdict, while the remaining cases are under investigation together with the republic's law enforcement agencies.
Since the beginning of the year, specialists from the "Dagenergo" branch have recorded 952 cases of unmetered electricity consumption. The total volume exceeded 20.1 million kWh, and the damage to the region's power grid complex amounted to more than 129 million rubles. This is a serious blow to infrastructure that is already under enormous strain.
Energy workers emphasize: electricity theft leads to voltage fluctuations in the grid, breakdowns of household appliances, and poses a direct threat to people's lives—from the risk of electric shock to fires. Unauthorized connection to grids carries fines of up to 15,000 rubles for individuals and up to 200,000 rubles for legal entities. In case of repeated violations, the amounts increase multiple times, and criminal liability for energy theft provides for up to two years of imprisonment.
Miners move into forests and apiaries
Dagestan remains one of the most problematic regions for underground mining. In June, energy workers eliminated a farm of 90 devices with a total capacity of about 315 kW in the village of Maydanskoye—the equipment was hidden under a false floor and connected to the grid without a contract. Similar schemes operate across the country.
In the village of Stolbova, Irkutsk district, police discovered 12 pieces of equipment under a camouflage net in a forest area, connected directly to a power line pole. The preliminary damage to the energy system there exceeded 2.5 million rubles. The ingenuity of violators knows no bounds: a resident of the Tyumen region found a crypto farm on her dacha plot, mistaking the equipment for beehives due to the characteristic appearance of the housings. The regional police department is conducting an investigation into this incident.
The general logic is the same: electricity costs determine the profitability of mining, so underground operators look for connection points far from metering. Legal sites lose on cost.
Energy workers continue raids together with the police, and the number of identified facilities over less than eight months shows that the scale of the problem in the republic persists.
My comment: This situation is a clear indicator of a systemic crisis in mining regulation. While legal operators are forced to pay market rates, the shadow sector gains a competitive advantage through theft. Without stricter penalties and the creation of transparent conditions for connecting industrial capacities, we will observe this "arms race" endlessly. Regions with cheap energy urgently need to offer legal alternatives, otherwise law enforcement will forever be chasing a business that goes into the shadows.