Mexico proposed prison sentences for electricity theft used in cryptocurrency mining, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): A Morena lawmaker in the Mexico City Congress proposes punishing anyone who steals electricity to mine cryptocurrencies with 5 to 12 years in prison, and up to half again as much if aggravating factors are present, such as tapping into medium- or high-voltage lines.
The proposal would reform the Federal Penal Code, so it still has a long way to go. It must first be approved by the capital’s Congress and then by the federal Congress of the Union.
The initiative by deputy Alberto Martínez Urincho, of the Morena parliamentary group, was presented in the October 26 ordinary session of the Mexico City Congress, according to Hoja de Ruta Digital. It proposes adding an Article 368 Sextus to the Federal Penal Code to punish anyone who uses, takes advantage of, sells, traffics in or alters, “without right,” electricity from the National Electric System’s grids to power or operate equipment used for mining virtual assets, massive data processing or solving cryptographic algorithms.
Electricity theft is already a crime in Mexico, with penalties that depend on the value of the energy stolen. The new element is a specific offense for mining, with higher penalties.
Martínez Urincho cites CFE Distribución data showing that between January and July 2024, 6,346 GWh were lost to theft, meter tampering and illegal connections, with an estimated value of 13,800 million pesos. Those figures do not separate out how much is attributable to cryptocurrency mining.
A recent case is that of Tlaola in the Sierra Norte of Puebla. In September, the Attorney General’s Office, the Navy and the state police seized about 300 mining machines, transformers, medium-voltage terminals and satellite antennas illegally connected to a hydroelectric complex fed by the Nuevo Necaxa dam, according to Decrypt.
Authorities are investigating who paid for the equipment and whether it was used to launder money; no responsibility has been determined.
Although several outlets say “Mexico proposes” these penalties, for now this is the initiative of a local deputy, with no vote taken.
