Malaysia Loses Over $1 Billion to Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining

Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy has uncovered electricity theft amounting to $1.1 billion due to illegal cryptocurrency mining. This was stated in a parliamentary report by the regulator.
The state energy company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) suffered losses of 4.57 billion ringgit. The firm identified 13,827 sites illegally consuming electricity for mining Bitcoin and other digital assets from 2020 to 2025.
Officials stated that this activity poses a serious threat to the national power supply system, public safety, and the country’s economic stability.
The fight against illegal mining has been ongoing in Malaysia since 2018. According to last year’s statement by the Ministry of Energy, from then until 2023, cryptocurrency miners stole electricity worth 3.4 billion ringgit (~$791 million).
In May, TNB reported that over four years, electricity theft by illegal cryptocurrency miners had increased by nearly 300%.

How is Malaysia Combating Illegal Mining?

The energy giant conducts raids to curb illegal mining in collaboration with the police and local authorities. Since January 2020, the company has received an average of 340 complaints per month related to cryptocurrency mining.
The firm has also created an internal database of landlords and tenants suspected of energy theft.

“This database serves as an important tool for identifying and monitoring suspicious sites and forms the basis for prompt inspection activities,” TNB representatives stated.

On a technical level, the company has implemented ‘smart’ meters and launched a pilot monitoring program using AI at power substations to quickly detect abnormal consumption.
Under Malaysian law, any illegal interference with electrical networks can result in hefty fines (up to 1 million ringgit, or ~$230,000) and imprisonment for up to 10 years. Previously, TNB had proposed stricter measures.