Security forces found an illegal mining farm in Kabardino-Balkaria.

A resident of Nalchik is suspected of illegal cryptocurrency mining, with the damage from the mining farm estimated at five million rubles.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in December 2025, security forces found a mining farm in two uninhabited houses in the village of Stary Cherkek in the Urvansky district. The damage from its operation was estimated at 5.8 million rubles.

Security forces found a 38-year-old resident of Nalchik who, despite the ban in the republic, had been engaged in mining digital currency for six months, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkaria reported on its website on October 8.

"In the village of Kamenka [Chegem district], the city dweller rented a basement under a local store and installed about two dozen devices for cryptocurrency mining, which he connected to the power grid bypassing the meters to reduce the costs of maintaining the underground mining farm. As a result, there was unaccounted electricity consumption amounting to about 5 million rubles," the publication states.

The Chegem district police department has initiated a criminal case under part 2 of article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the agency noted. It is not specified in the publication whether the suspect has been detained and whether a preventive measure has been chosen for him.

Part 2 of article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Causing property damage by deception or abuse of trust) provides for up to five years of imprisonment.

The ban on mining is in effect in all republics of the North Caucasus Federal District

Delimkhanov threatened to equate illegal miners with terrorists

Authorities in the southern regions of Russia have repeatedly pointed out the problem with mining farms. In particular, in December 2024, Sergey Melikov, who was then the head of Dagestan, signed an appeal to the government of Russia requesting a ban on cryptocurrency mining in the republic due to the increasing load on the power grid.

According to a government decree, from 2025 until March 15, 2031, a complete ban on mining has been introduced, including in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, and Chechnya.

In Dagestan, despite the ban on mining, equipment for cryptocurrency mining is regularly discovered by security forces during raids. From January to mid-August 2026, 52 illegal mining farms were found in the republic, and 968 devices for cryptocurrency mining were seized.

Economists assessed the effectiveness of the mining ban in the North Caucasus

In April 2021, the Council of Ulemas of Ingushetia banned Muslims from buying and selling cryptocurrencies due to the lack of legislative guarantees for their owners. Blockchain technologies are allowed from the perspective of Sharia, but each cryptocurrency "needs to be approached individually" since there are various opinions among Islamic authorities regarding them, said Rashit Tugushev, a member of the Council of Ulemas under the Muslim Spiritual Administration of Russia, to "Caucasian Knot".

The problem with mining is also relevant in Abkhazia, where there is an acute shortage of electricity. Cryptocurrency mining has become a business for influential people connected with high-ranking officials, according to a report by "Caucasian Knot" "Greedy mining: who is to blame for the Abkhaz blackout?".