Police find crypto farm in electricity investigation

A cryptocurrency farm was found in a commercial building on Kempenbaan in Rijen on Wednesday. The tenant, a 37-year-old man from Tilburg, was arrested on suspicion of theft of electricity and money laundering, BN De Stem reports.

The police decided to look into the building due to its extremely high electricity consumption. "We were actually expecting to find a cannabis farm", a spokesperson said to the newspaper. Instead, officers found dozens of computers in the warehouse, all mining cryptocurrencies.

Investigators are looking into which cryptocurrencies were being mined. "Presumably its not bitcoins, but other digital coins", the spokesperson said. How long the warehouse was used for crypto-mining is not clear. The police seized all equipment in the building as well as the suspect's car.

The Tilburg man is suspected of money laundering and stealing electricity. Mining cryptocurrencies is not illegal.