Kazakhstan seized a shipment of mining equipment valued at $1 million during an attempt to export it to Russia., 2026/03/16 12:35:25

The Kostanay region court in Kazakhstan has ordered the confiscation of a batch of mining servers valued at over 500 million tenge (more than $1 million). The equipment was being illegally transported out of the country to Russia, as reported by the regional prosecutor’s office.

The incident took place at the “Ayat” automobile checkpoint in the Beymbet Maylin area. Customs authorities discovered a shipment of mining servers weighing more than eight tons.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the equipment falls under the category of specific goods, the export of which necessitates a license and accompanying documentation. The sending company lacked the required documents.

An administrative protocol was drawn up regarding the violation. The first-instance court found the exporter guilty and imposed a fine of 98,300 tenge. Confiscation of the equipment was not applied as an additional penalty.

The prosecutor’s office appealed this decision. The supervisory authority noted that, according to Article 45 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and clarifications from the Supreme Court, items involved in administrative violations are subject to uncompensated transfer to state ownership.

Following the appeal review, the regional court granted the prosecutor’s demands and ruled to confiscate the mining servers. The decision has come into legal force, and the equipment will be transferred to state revenue.

Previously, Russian law enforcement and energy officials uncovered two illegal mining farms in the village of Cherelisin in the Yaroslavl region. According to the branch “Rosseti Center” — “Yarenergo,” the estimated damage is around 10.6 million rubles.