Malaysia uncovers $1 billion in power theft losses from illegal crypto mining

Malaysia's national utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has uncovered over $1.1 billion in losses from electricity stolen for crypto mining operations over roughly the past five years, amid the country's ongoing crackdown on power theft.

The country's energy ministry wrote in a parliamentary filing dated Tuesday that TNB has identified 13,827 premises that illegally siphoned power to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies between 2020 and August 2025. That led to losses of at least 4.57 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion).

The ministry said the activity poses a serious threat to the national electric supply system and public safety, the country's economic stability.

Malaysia has been battling illicit crypto mining operations as early as 2018 to prevent soaring electricity costs. In August 2024, local authorities said it had destroyed over 900 bitcoin mining rigs worth nearly 2 million ringgit ($482,160).

In the Tuesday filing, the energy ministry said that TNB has built an internal database of property owners and tenants suspected of involvement in electricity theft to better identify and track suspicious sites going forward.

"This database serves as an important internal reference for identifying and monitoring suspicious premises and forms the basis for operational inspection actions," said the energy ministry in the translated document.

On the technical front, TNB has deployed smart meters and launched the "Distribution Transformer Meter" pilot program at energy substations to better monitor energy usage and detect abnormal patterns, the ministry said.