Engineers from a large nuclear research center in Russia were arrested after being caught trying to dig bitcoin on their powerful lab computers, the France press reported, citing local news agencies.

The detainees worked at the Federal Center for Nuclear Research in Sarov, a town about 370 kilometers east of Moscow. They were arrested after trying to use the facility super computers for personal purposes, including digging for bitcoin, said Tatyana Zaleska, a spokeswoman for the center.

The creation of virtual currencies on the Internet is possible through complex calculations of powerful computers. The operation is called "digging". The more powerful the machine, the faster the virtual currency is created. The Sarov Center is subordinate to Rosatom, the Russian Atomic Energy Agency, and is developing nuclear weapons. It is located in a city subject to a special security regime. Access is restricted, even for Russian citizens, BTA reports.