TL;DR Breakdown
- BTC mining firm faces penalty of up to $6 million
- The Canadian Securities Exchange is currently reviewing Link Global’s listing on the CSE as a result of this ruling.
- Link Global has been fined $450,000 by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)
A Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, Global Technologies Limited, is facing heavy potential fines for operating illegal power plants in Alberta.
Link Global has been fined $450,000 by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the province’s power utility regulator, for violating Alberta’s legal requirements. Link Global has also been fined $6 million by Ontario’s energy regulator following a determination that it had violated rules pertaining to electricity transmission. On Sept 24th, Link Global was sentenced to a $300,000 penalty and a further $300,000 compensation. The fine was incurred for operating illegal power plants in Alberta.
The Canadian Securities Exchange is currently reviewing Link Global’s listing on the CSE as a result of this ruling.
BTC mining firm has been generating electricity illegitimately
For financial gains from unlawful electricity generation, the AUC’s enforcement department advised that Link Global should be ordered to pay an economic disgorgement of roughly $2 million Canadian dollars ($1.6 million).
The Canadian Securities regulators, on the other hand, are seeking over 5 million CAD ($4 million) from Link Global’s Bitcoin mining operations as a result of AUC calculations that estimate Link Global’s overall gross economic benefit for two plants. In addition, the AUC is requesting an additional 81,000 CAD ($64,000) in two administrative penalties.
According to the proposal, the AUC used “a more conservative generation rate of 1.2 Bitcoins per day” and “the more conservative of 95,000 TH of computing power versus 10 MW” to calculate Link Global’s economic benefit. The agency stated that Link Global’s primary source of income is hosting and selling electricity to third parties.
The AUC has given Link Global until Oct. 14, 2021, to file its response to the action. Sources reveal that Link Global is expected to contest the regulator’s claims in court, as well as resolve the matters privately by settling with regulators or through other means.
Link Global is a Vancouver-based company operating cryptocurrency mining data centers in northern China and Iceland. Link Global has been listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange since September 2017 and is currently traded at $1 per share, with a market cap of around $2 million.
“The enforcement staff’s report and recommendations are only one aspect of the evidence that will be considered and evaluated by the AUC tribunal panel of Commission members,” a spokesperson for the AUC said.
Pending a final decision, the company has been granted an extension until October 14, 2021, to file its response. “All of this information will be considered at an oral hearing before a definitive ruling is issued. The date of this hearing has not yet been determined,” the representative added.
Following the AUC’s complaint, Link Global CEO Stephen Jenkins issued a statement on Thursday in which he admitted to misconduct and promised to correct mistakes.
“Our company strives to comply with the laws, people, and the environment, and we feel that our submission to the AUC will demonstrate this. We apologize for what has happened. To assuage our investors who do not deserve this, we will work tirelessly to ensure a good outcome.”
The court’s decision to levy a $400,000 fine and order the AUC to refund almost 30% of the payments made between July 13, 2012, and March 21, 2015, from two wind farms in B.C.’s northeast corner is something that has never before occurred in Canadian history – as such it will undoubtedly set precedence for future instances
The AUC initially instructed Link Global to cease operations in late August after local residents complained about the noise from a nearby power plant, according to a statement.
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