The employee, identified as Andrey Rybkin, was jailed for 3 years and three months for the “unauthorized use of computer capabilities.”
Notably, two of his co-workers were earlier charged for their contributions in the illegal program, with one of them getting a suspended prison sentence.
The imprisoned scientist was fined 200,000 roubles ($3,130), after deploying a latest supercomputer at the research centre to mine Bitcoin.
One of Rybkin’s colleagues was slapped with a fine of 450,000 roubles (US$7000), but escaped prison sentence. The other employee was sentenced to four year suspended prison sentence, in addition to a fine.
The Russian city of Sarov, located 370km from Moscow, hosts the research centre. Sarov is a “closed city”, implying that there is prohibition on tourists and foreigners visit. Even non-resident Russians need to apply for a special permit to visit the location.