During an August 12 conference, Tajikistan’s Prosecutor General Khabibullo Vokhidzoda expressed concern over electricity theft by illegal cryptocurrency mining farms in the country. According to Vokhidzoda, whose office is currently pursuing five criminal investigations into the matter, the financial damage caused by these illegal operations in just the first six months of 2025 was valued at 32 million somoni (around $3.52 million). Vokhidzoda’s remarks follow a similar update from the prosecutor’s office in the Sughd region, which is investigating seven criminal cases where 135 cryptocurrency mining devices were discovered inside residential buildings, causing just over $30,000 in damages.

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of creating new units of cryptocurrency, usually called coins. It involves solving incredibly complex mathematical puzzles in competition against other miners. This process requires powerful computers that consume large amounts of electricity, which can overload power grids at times. In Tajikistan, enterprising individuals exploit low-cost electricity, a lack of regulations surrounding cryptocurrency, and government corruption to import advanced computing equipment from other countries and establish data centers in residential and commercial buildings, effectively bypassing industrial electricity use metering. 

Tajikistan, the only country in Central Asia that hasn’t moved forward with a legal framework for cryptocurrency mining, exemplifies a dilemma faced by many governments worldwide: how to regulate a rapidly evolving digital industry without stifling innovation and economic growth, as an unregulated digital industry can severely impact public utility infrastructure and drain national resources.

Following China’s 2021 ban on cryptocurrency mining, many operators, including those from Russia, moved to Central Asia, attracted by low energy costs and more relaxed oversight, and quickly began running up the bills. Collaborative efforts by Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency and National Security Committee revealed that local energy company employees had provided cryptomining operations with over 50 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity intended for domestic and commercial use over the past two years – equivalent to the energy consumption of a city with between 50,000 and 70,000 residents. Cryptocurrency-centric news sources turned the attention of the industry to Kyrgyzstan next, highlighting the country’s abundance of cheap hydropower.

Recently, Tajikistan criminalized electricity theft. Article 253 of the country’s criminal code now states that altering electricity meter readings or bypassing the meter to avoid payment, if committed within one year of an administrative penalty, will incur a fine of 365 to 547 calculation units or imprisonment of up to three years (one calculation unit currently equates to around $7.50, so the fine would be $2,735 to $4,102). If committed on a large scale, by someone in an official position, or by conspiracy, the punishment rises to a fine of 800 to 1,000 calculation units ($6,000 to $7,500) or three to six years in prison, along with a prohibition on holding certain government positions or engaging in specific activities for up to three years. Offenses of an especially large scale or committed by an organized group or criminal organization are punishable by six to 10 years of imprisonment and a ban on holding certain government roles or engaging in specific activities for up to five years. The terms “large scale” and “especially large scale” refer to property damage valued at over 1,000 and 2,000 calculation units ($7,500-$15,000), respectively. However, if the offender, excluding especially large-scale offenses, fully compensates for the damage before the court’s verdict, the court may impose a fine and forgo imprisonment.

Tajikistan is currently pursuing 190 criminal cases related to the illegal use of electricity, involving 3,988 individuals who are alleged to have caused damages worth $4.26 million. 

Nevertheless, this may not resolve Tajikistan’s energy challenges.

More than 30 years after independence, Tajikistan still requires substantial foreign investment into its energy infrastructure and reforms within its energy sector. The state monopoly, Barqi Tojik, which controls electricity production and distribution, owes a debt amounting to a third of the country’s GDP. The country’s energy production heavily relies on glacier-fed hydropower, which is vulnerable to fluctuations and is diminishing due to climate change and melting glaciers. The government continues pouring vast resources into Rogun, a 3,600 MW hydroelectric power station under construction since 1976, which has already exceeded half the country’s GDP in costs.

Residents continue to face electricity rationing and scheduled but often unannounced blackouts that usually last from early October into spring, colloquially known as the “electricity limit.” These constraints cause economic losses of up to 3 percent of GDP and reduce agricultural output by up to a third, thereby hampering residents’ ability to meet rising electricity costs.