PUTRAJAYA: Eighteen people have been arrested in relation to the bitcoin mining syndicate busted by a joint sting operation involving Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

       MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said five more individuals were supposed to be arrested, but were currently Covid-19 positive.

       “The individuals arrested are all Malaysian males aged between 30 and 60, including the masterminds of the syndicate.

       “A total of RM2.4mil was believed to have been given out in bribes to TNB officers.

       "We also seized 1,157 bitcoin (mining) machines worth RM2.3mil in total, while bank accounts have been frozen," he told a press conference at MACC headquarters here Tuesday (March 1).

       On Tuesday, The Star reported on a sting operation that began three years ago during which MACC officers posing as TNB meter readers were paid RM2.4mil in bribes.

       The masterminds were said to be raking in a whopping RM50mil a month from 998 premises nationwide.

       On Monday (Feb 28), the anti-corruption officers crippled most of the syndicate's activities by conducting simultaneous raids in Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

       The syndicate was found to have used special devices to manipulate power usage to ensure that their operations used as little electricity as possible.

       More to come