UK Police Officer Jailed for Stealing $2.4M in Seized Bitcoin

Former NCA Officer Sentenced to Confiscation Order for Stolen Silk Road Bitcoin

A former officer of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Paul Chowles, has been ordered to forfeit £1,810,678.93 after stealing 50 Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road 2.0 investigation. At the time of the theft nine years ago, the cryptocurrency was valued at approximately £59,409.

The Disappearance of 50 Bitcoin

Nine years ago, Paul Chowles transferred 50 Bitcoin from a seized wallet related to the Silk Road investigation he was involved in. The sum was worth around £59,409 at the time. Today, he faces a penalty of £1,810,678.93 (approximately $2.4 million) for that act.

In a press release on September 30, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that a confiscation order had been issued against the 44-year-old former NCA officer from Bristol under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The total amount includes the value of 30 Bitcoin previously recovered.

From Seized Wallet to Debit Card: How 50 Bitcoin Vanished

Chowles was an operational officer for the NCA, investigating dark web crime. According to a sentencing press release from the CPS in July 2025, the NCA, in conjunction with the FBI, investigated the original Silk Road. In 2014, a second phase of the operation identified Thomas White. Less than a month after the FBI shut down the original Silk Road, White launched Silk Road 2.0, for which he was sentenced in April 2019.

Chowles was the lead officer responsible for analyzing and extracting cryptocurrencies from devices seized from White.

The theft occurred between May 6 and 7, 2017. Of the 97 Bitcoin seized by the NCA, 50 were transferred in two transactions from White’s “retirement wallet” to a public address. Chowles then broke down these amounts into smaller sums and sent them through the Bitcoin Fog mixer to obscure the money trail.

He cashed out the funds using Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards he had opened accounts for, as well as through currency exchange withdrawals. The sentencing press release detailed transactions totaling £23,309 across 279 instances on his Cryptopay card, with an additional £6,232 from five currency exchange withdrawals. His Wirex account and card were used for £79,884.77.

Following the disappearance of the Bitcoin, suspicion initially fell on White. The NCA team concluded that White himself had accessed the wallet. By late 2021, the 50 Bitcoin were written off as unrecoverable. White himself was subject to a confiscation order of £1,560,506. The NCA sold the remaining 47 Bitcoin in its possession to offset part of this debt, leaving White owing £1,066,956. White, however, maintained that an insider within the NCA must have taken the funds, as only they possessed the wallet’s private keys.

A breakthrough occurred in early 2022. After completing his sentence and being released on license, White came under the management of Merseyside Police. During a meeting between Merseyside Police and the NCA to discuss the case, Chowles was present, and Merseyside Police learned of the theft of the 50 Bitcoin.

An investigation was launched, and Chowles was arrested in May 2022. An iPhone seized from him was linked to the accounts used to transfer the Bitcoin and contained browsing history for cryptocurrency exchange services. Notebooks found in his office contained account numbers, passwords, and related notes for White’s cryptocurrency accounts.

On May 23, 2025, Chowles pleaded guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property. The NCA dismissed him on July 11, and on July 16, he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court. Detective Chief Inspector John Black of Merseyside Police stated in the sentencing press release: “He used his position within this investigation to enrich himself and devised a plan he thought would cover his tracks. He was wrong.”

Calculating the £1.81 Million and the Confiscation Order’s Destination

The amount of the confiscation order does not directly equate to the money Chowles received.

According to The Register, the CPS stated that the rise in Bitcoin’s value increased Chowles’s deemed criminal profit to £1,970,759.27 (approximately £1.97 million). However, the court assessed his available assets for enforcement at £1,810,678.93, which is the amount of the current confiscation order.

Under the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act, the confiscation order amount is the lower of the criminal profit or the available assets. Therefore, the difference of approximately £160,000 between the two figures is not included in this order. The Act allows prosecutors to apply for a reassessment if new assets are discovered in the future.

A second detail emerges from an editorial note in the press release. The CPS mentioned that the court also issued a compensation order to a “victim,” with the funds intended to settle that victim’s outstanding confiscation order. While the press release did not name the victim, given the circumstances, White is the most logical candidate, as the stolen wallet belonged to him, and he still owes £1,066,956 from his confiscation order.

If this inference is correct, the compensation would effectively circle back, ultimately returning to the Treasury.