Cuito – The Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) in the province of Bié, arrested today, two citizens of Chinese nationality, detained on charges of cryptocurrency mining.
The arrest took place in the municipality of Cuito, Caluapanda neighborhood, inside a warehouse.
Those involved, aged 38 and 39, are guilty of the crimes of illegal exercise of economic activity, criminal association, money laundering and theft of electricity.
According to SIC-Bié' spokesperson, Simão Lucas Londaca, the accused, to complete their actions, rented a space, desguising it as a plastics factory.
To this end, they acquired an electrical energy transformation post, connected to a public network, and with their own resources they handled these materials, interconnected in two pavilions.
Simão Londaca explained that those involved acted with the support of high-power processors and computers with programs installed, where they carried out and controlled the illicit activity.
During the operation, more than 800 miners, an electrical power transformer post, a high voltage transformer, two portable computers, several medium voltage electrical cables and other IT equipment and electrical material were seized.
In February this year, the Angolan Parliament approved the law that prohibits and criminalizes cryptocurrency mining activities and other virtual assets in the country, to safeguard national energy security.
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of validating and entering transactions into a shared database that uses a specific technology, called 'blockchain'.
Cryptocurrencies are digital "money", unlike Kwanza and others that can be exchanged, because they only runs on the internet and allow the user to make financial transactions without needing a bank.
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently the largest blockchain network by market capitalization, followed by Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT).
Mining activity puts national security at risk because of electrical distribution overload.
AS/PLB/CF/jmc
