Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (Bitcoin) Mining companies listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange face significant potential penalties for operating unauthorized power plants in Alberta.
The Alberta Public Utilities Commission (AUC), the provincial electricity regulator, issued another enforcement report against Link Global on September 24. Law enforcement officials recommended several penalties for violations of Alberta’s legislation.
According to a document shared with Cointelegraph, AUC law enforcement officers recommended that Link Global should pay approximately 2 million Canadian dollars (CAD) (US$1.6 million) in economic losses for the economic benefits of illegal power generation.
According to AUC’s calculation of the total economic benefits of Link Global’s alleged two factories, the regulator is seeking more than 5 million Canadian dollars (4 million U.S. dollars) from Link Global’s Bitcoin mining business. In addition, AUC is seeking two additional administrative penalties of 81,000 Canadian dollars (64,000 US dollars).
According to the document, AUC estimates the economic benefits of Link Global based on the “more conservative rate of 1.2 bitcoins per day” and the “more conservative 95,000 TH computing power and 10 MW computing power”. The authorities pointed out that Link Global’s source of income is mainly based on custody or the sale of electricity to third-party digital asset miners, “self-mining activities have a small proportion of income.”
An AUC spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “The reports and recommendations of law enforcement officers are only part of the information that the members of the AUC Arbitration Tribunal will evaluate and consider.” Link Global has received an extension to October 14, 2021 as a response to submission expiration date. “All this information will be considered at the oral hearing before the final ruling is made. The date of this hearing has not yet been determined,” the representative said.
Following the submission of AUC, Link Global CEO Stephen Jenkins followed release A statement on September 30 stated that the company has admitted to wrongdoing and has been working hard to correct the error:
“Our company is committed to respecting the law, people and the environment, and we believe that our application to AUC will make this obvious. […] I apologize to our shareholders, they are not worth it. We will work tirelessly to ensure that the results are positive. “
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Link Global did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
If applicable, the fine will only be the second fine imposed by AUC after the $56 million settlement with the generator TransAlta Corporation approved in 2015.
As mentioned earlier, AUC initial After local residents complained about the noise from nearby power plants, Link Global was asked to shut down operations in late August.
