A Russian man hid two crypto farms on his rural plots.

A 45-year-old resident of Russia's Vladimir Region has been charged with illegal cryptocurrency mining on two of his own land plots. According to investigators, the mining farm equipment was connected to the power grid in a way that bypassed metering devices.

Two mining farms operated on plots in the villages of Krutovo and Novy Spas in the Petushinsky District. Representatives from the utility company Rosseti Centre and Volga Region stated that the farms consumed over 1 million kWh of electricity during their operation, estimating the financial loss at 8.7 million rubles.

The farms were discovered by the deputy head of the local branch of VladimirEnergo. Last September, the farm owner met the official at a café and offered him money in exchange for foregoing inspections and falsifying electricity consumption records.

Investigators allege that the VladimirEnergo employee agreed to the scheme and received monthly payments ranging from 15,000 to 25,000 rubles until July of this year. The total value of the bribes is estimated at 235,000 rubles. During a search, law enforcement officers seized computers, other equipment, bank cards, and over 200 hunting cartridges from the sites.

A criminal case for fraud has been opened against the crypto-farm owner. Additionally, he faces charges of bribery, while the deputy head of the local VladimirEnergo branch is charged with accepting bribes.

The Vladimir Region is not among the Russian regions where cryptocurrency mining is prohibited.

Previously, police reported on a resident of the Stavropol Territory who had been mining cryptocurrency for three years by connecting his equipment to the power grid while bypassing the meters. According to law enforcement, a 53-year-old man set up a mining farm in an outbuilding on his property and exchanged the resulting digital assets for rubles.