Russian customs reported seizing a batch of mining equipment smuggled from Mongolia.

Recently, it was reported that the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation has prohibited the illegal import of four types of cryptocurrency mining equipment from Mongolia into Russia.

Confiscation of Smuggled Items

According to a report on Coindesk on 9/17, a Chinese government spokesperson confirmed that the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China is conducting inspections with the aim of eliminating "illegal" bitcoin mining operations before October. Insiders added:

This move reflects the government's nationwide phase-out plan for bitcoin mining. As proposed by the government in April, while final approval is still pending, the stance to drive out China's cryptocurrency mining industry is becoming increasingly apparent.

Due to its cheap electricity supply, low land prices, cold weather, and sparse population, Inner Mongolia in northern China is one of the most suitable regions for operating bitcoin mining activities. When the government decided to investigate Inner Mongolia, smuggling activities also came to light.

According to a report from Coinspot on 10/1, a Mongolian citizen attempted to smuggle mining equipment and connect it to a micro-circuit on the Russia-Mongolia border, then install it on Russian territory.

The customs department explained that the smuggler was detained by customs officials during border checks in a rural area known as Ashanta. As the smuggler failed to provide any legal documents regarding the cryptocurrency mining equipment, it was immediately confiscated by the authorities.

Criminals Rarely Use Cryptocurrency for Withdrawals

According to a report by local news media TASS on 6/21, Artem Sychev, the head of the Russian Bank's Information Security Department, stated:

For banks, criminals prefer to cash out stolen funds rather than use cryptocurrency for withdrawals.

In the Russian Federation, the method of extracting stolen funds in a crypto manner is rarely used by attackers, and this method is not widely spread at the moment, as cashing out is less technically challenging for attackers. As Sychev mentioned:

No matter what technologies are developed in the future, it is not important for us. Our goal is to understand what technologies and methods attackers can use to carry out attacks and use them to extract funds. Our focus will be on that direction. If we find that attackers have learned to withdraw funds quickly through certain specific channels, we will accordingly establish more protective measures.

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