Dutch brothers who stole electricity to mine Bitcoin face jail time today; Bitcoin mining must be legal

Two brothers from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, who allegedly stole electricity to mine bitcoin in 2014, face months in prison if prosecutors convict them of the crime.

This is the first case in the Netherlands involving stealing electricity to mine Bitcoin. Prosecutors are also investigating who is the mastermind behind the theft of electricity for mining and will sentence the two brothers based on this.

According to local news reports, the two unnamed brothers are aged 39 and 43, and one of them is in charge of the mining site. The prosecutor of the Rotterdam region revealed yesterday that the two brothers began stealing electricity to mine in 2014, and the bitcoins they mined were worth nearly 200,000 euros, about 223,000 US dollars.

The Netherlands’ public complaints service Openbaar Ministerie (OM) added that the bitcoin mining equipment was found on a farm that grows marijuana, which had been harvested at least twice. The electricity the brothers stole came from Stedin, a company in Rotterdam.

According to local media outlet Algemeen Dagblad, prosecutors said the younger brother was the mastermind behind the theft of electricity to mine Bitcoin, and that he bought a 14,000 euro mining rig in 2013 with proceeds from his marijuana farm.

OM revealed that both brothers have been formally charged with money laundering. The younger brother (owner of the marijuana farm) will face up to 15 months in prison, and will also face charges for growing marijuana. The older brother only faces charges for money laundering and could be sentenced to five months in prison.

According to local media reports, yesterday's court proceedings showed that the brother still had some of the mined bitcoins in his digital wallet, while the rest had been converted into euros. If the brother is convicted, OM will fine him 248,000 euros.

The Rotterdam court's decision is expected within two weeks.