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Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

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Last updated: 

June 17, 2025

Russian prosecutors say they have shut down a 30,000 sqm crypto mining farm illegally operating in an industrial plant located on state-owned property.

Per a Telegram post from the official account of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Prosecutor’s Office, the “open-air” facility was located in the town of Nazarovo, some 240 km west of Krasnoyarsk, in Central Siberia.

The office said it had obtained a court order allowing bailiffs to raid the facility. The farm reportedly mined coins worth around 4.6 million rubles ($58,672) per month for its operators.

Crypto Mining Farm ‘Used Scores of Transformers and Generators’

Prosecutors explained that the operators had fenced off the facility with barbed wire. However, its location was nothing if not conspicuous. They wrote: “The farm was right out in the open air in the town’s industrial hub district.”

Officially, the site was registered as a “non-residential building” under the name of a management company.

However, when investigators conducted their raid, they found several transformers on the premises. They also discovered power generators, cooling equipment, and crypto mining rigs.

The management firm, prosecutors said, leased the property to a crypto mining firm, along with a “non-existent building.” The miner had reportedly connected their rigs to the city’s power grid.

Prosecutors said they received a tip-off from an energy provider. The latter reported that it had detected a high probability of emergency power outages at the facility.

When they investigated, the prosecutors discovered that the company had not obtained permission to operate power-receiving units or use state-owned land.

They also found that the miners were not complying with fire safety requirements, which constituted a public safety risk.

Operator Ignored Prosecutors’ Warnings

The office said it initially wrote to the firm to ask it to desist, adding that the operator “ignored” this request.

The prosecution service responded by petitioning a district court, which responded by banning all activity at the facility “until the violations are rectified.”

In February this year, a staffer at a Krasnoyarsk Krai energy provider was discovered taking bribes worth $7,380 from illegal crypto miners.

The staffer agreed to turn a blind eye to the miners’ operations and their illegal connections to the grid.

The same miners stole electricity worth about 9.4 million rubles ($119,592) from the Krasnoyarsk Krai energy system, investigators found.

According to the Federal Tax Service’s registry of crypto miners, Krasnoyarsk Krai is one of Russia’s top three crypto mining regions, along with the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Tatarstan.

What just happened? Intel announced a significant revision to the construction timeline of its Ohio One semiconductor manufacturing site in New Albany. The setback is the third substantial delay from the facility’s original 2025 completion target. Intel emphasizes its commitment to the project and its ability to accelerate construction if market demand warrants.

The first phase of the facility, known as Mod 1, should be finished in 2030, with chip production beginning between 2030 and 2031. The company’s revised timeline also affects the project’s second phase, Mod 2, pushing it back to a 2031 completion date, with operations beginning in 2032.

The Ohio One campus, once dubbed the “Silicon Heartland,” is an ambitious undertaking. It will span approximately 1,000 acres and include up to eight semiconductor fabrication plants. The site will also accommodate support operations and industry partners. Initial investment estimates were around $20 billion, with potential for up to $100 billion in total development costs.

Despite the frequent delays, the site has made significant construction progress since work began in 2022. Key milestones include completion of the underground foundation, commencement of above-ground construction, installation of air separation units and underground piping, pouring over 200,000 cubic yards of concrete, and more than 6.4 million hours of invested labor.

The revised timeline reveals that the Ohio facilities will utilize process technologies developed after Intel’s 14A and 14A-E nodes, currently scheduled for introduction in 2026-2027. These advanced manufacturing processes will likely rely on ASML’s cutting-edge High-NA EUV lithography tools, costing around $350 million each.

Intel has already begun hiring and training employees for the Ohio facility. Workers are receiving training at existing Intel sites in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon, preparing them for the eventual opening of the local facility.

Intel’s decision to delay the Ohio plant opening comes amid a challenging period for the company and the semiconductor industry. The past year has seen Intel grappling with financial losses, layoffs, and leadership changes. The company has also made strategic decisions to simplify its product roadmap, including canceling an AI chip project.

While the delay may raise concerns about Intel’s outlook on future demand, it also allows the company to manage its capital expenditures more effectively during market uncertainty. By postponing significant investments in production equipment, Intel can focus on returning to profitability while maintaining the flexibility to ramp up operations when market conditions improve.