KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — An illegal Bitcoin mining syndicate was busted by the Immigration Department following the arrest of two Chinese nationals in charge of the operation in Cheras yesterday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the duo, 28 and 33, who worked as the caretaker and Bitcoin machine repairman, were arrested during a raid on a business outlet following a month of intelligence gathering.
“Both men failed to produce any valid travel documents, believed to be kept by an agent,” he said in a statement today,
Ruslin added that RM12,600 in cash, 30 Bitcoin machines, two Bitcoin cooler machines, two computers, a laptop, and two units of testing equipment were also seized.
The syndicate is believed to have been conducting illegal bitcoin mining operations behind a business front offering tinting services to elude the authorities.
The two men have been detained at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
In a separate development, a Bangladeshi acting as a middleman for foreign workers was among six foreigners arrested by the Immigration Department at a premise in Ampang, Selangor, on Wednesday (January 17).
He said 16 individuals were checked during the operation, of which six individuals aged 27 to 56, who were Bangladeshi men and an Indonesian woman, were arrested for having expired temporary working permits.
The authorities also seized 91 I-Kads (foreign worker cards), 561 Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Cards, 42 foreign national passports, 33 company stamps, and 27 fails containing company information, along with RM740,050 in cash.
The six were arrested for suspected offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963, and have been placed at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for further investigations.
— Bernama
