Bukit Aman criminal investigation department director Shuhaily Zain said the information was derived from a CID-TNB joint operation.

He said 2,091 raids were carried out nationwide during the period. Fifty-four raids were carried out in 2020; 529 in 2021; 692 in 2022; 358 last year and 458 this year.

“In 2020, the losses from the thousands of confiscated bitcoin mining machines amounted to RM5,922,976 whereas in 2021, it rose to RM140,454,624.

“In 2022, the total loss was RM124,963,423 and last year, it was RM67,166,744. For 2024, up to September, the losses reached RM103,092,322.90,” he said at a press conference in Bukit Aman today.

Shuhaily said Bukit Aman was also scrutinising the losses in 2022 and 2023 because the amount does not show the bitcoin market pattern.

“This is to see whether it is due to the bitcoin market or our own constraints. If we look at the bitcoin market at that time it did decrease, so it is necessary to study whether the cryptocurrency market played a direct role,” he said.

He said TNB and CID have been cooperating since 2020 to combat electricity theft activities.

Deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and police secretary Kamaruzaman Abdullah were resent at the press conference.