Abkhaz Interior Ministry to set up special unit to counter cryptocurrency mining
SUKHUM. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Acting Abkhaz President Badra Gunba has ordered establishing a special unit based on the Abkhaz Interior Ministry to combat illegal cryptocurrency mining, the Abkhaz presidential information center said.
"The Abkhaz Interior Ministry has also been instructed to elaborate for adopting in the established order regulatory legal acts governing the activities of this structural unit," the statement said.
On December 16, the Abkhaz parliament passed in the first reading a bill completely banning cryptocurrency mining and amended the Criminal Code to introduce criminal liability for breaching the ban.
Cryptocurrency mining has been banned in Abkhazia since 2018. However, in previous years, the ban referred to mining activities using the Unified Operator's networks and did not apply to those who used electricity generated by private power plants.
Under the bill, moving cryptocurrency mining devices across the Abkhaz customs border and connecting them to the power grids and consuming more than 30 kWh of electricity for mining is penalized by one to three years in prison with the seizure of equipment.
The presence of up to five devices for cryptocurrency mining entails a 50,000-ruble fine and seizure of equipment, while the presence of more than five devices entails a 20,000-ruble fine for each device and the seizure of equipment.