Officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have raided three houses belonging to senior and retired officials of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) in Nakhon Pathom and Chon Buri provinces, on suspicion that they abetted Bitcoin mining operators by providing safe houses and electricity to sustain the energy-intensive operations.
About 19 million baht in cash and bank deposits, recorded in ten bank books, were seized during the raids.
A senior DSI official said one suspect is an assistant governor of the PEA, while two others are a regional assistant manager and an official. Another suspect is a retired PEA staff member.
Khemachart Prakaihongmanee, director of the DSI’s technology and information crime division, said the four active and retired PEA officials arranged facilities to support the illegal mining operations in return for monthly financial rewards.
He also claimed that the illegal operators were foreign-funded.
PEA governor Mongkol Treekijjanon said the three serving suspects have been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation, vowing that anyone found guilty would be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.
He said the PEA has suffered losses estimated at several billion baht a year due to electricity theft.
DSI chief Yutthana Praedam said the agency has dismantled as many as five illegal Bitcoin mining operations and seized more than 3,600 mining machines.
