Libyan Authorities have arrested 50 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation in the city of Zliten, Libya's attorney general's office announced Friday.
Those arrested were caught running a cryptocurrency mining farm inside an abandoned iron factory on the western coast of Libya, according to the statement.
The office of the attorney general, Siddiq Al-Sour, released photos and videos showing the dismantling process of important mining systems discovered in Zliten, a city in the eastern province of Tripoli.
The mining systems included an array of cables connecting digital conversion systems, data servers, fans, and high-voltage coolers.
These latest arrests were announced just after 10 other Chinese nationals were arrested in Misrata on Wednesday after being caught "red-handed" with dozens of powerful computers used to perform complex mining calculations, which were seized, according to the attorney general's office.
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The Attorney General's Office added that these events "violate the law," since the alleged perpetrators use "high-energy devices." [that] take advantage of a large amount of material to mine cryptocurrencies".
The statement said that the Libyan authorities were seeking the help of experts to assess "the damage to public money and public interest... as a result of the use of high-energy devices and the violation of monetary policy rules."
Despite the official ban, Libya recorded the highest percentage in the entire African continent of cryptocurrency mining, accounting for approximately 0.6 percent of global Bitcoin production in 2021.
Libya is known for its cheap electricity costs, at just $0.004 per kilowatt hour, which is around 40 times cheaper than the US. This has made Libya an ideal setting for cryptocurrency mining, but it has also contributed to the country's already battered power grids due to the political instability that has plagued the country for more than a decade.
Power blackouts last up to 18 hours a day during the summer months as authorities intensify their efforts to crack down on such activities, investigating suspected mining sites in Tripoli and Misrata.
