Key facts
- Former NCA officer Paul Chowles must repay $2.4 million for stealing 50 Bitcoin.
- The stolen Bitcoin was worth $77,000 when taken in 2017.
- Chowles was part of an investigation into the dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0.
- Thirty of the 50 Bitcoin were recovered.
- Chowles was jailed for five years and six months in July 2025.
A former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer, Paul Chowles, has been ordered by a UK court to repay approximately $2.4 million for stealing 50 Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency was valued at about $77,000 when Chowles took it in 2017 from a wallet seized during an investigation into the dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0.
The confiscation order was secured by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Thirty of the 50 Bitcoin were recovered, and the order accounts for their total value, with the CPS attributing the difference to Bitcoin's appreciation since 2017.
Chowles was part of the NCA team investigating Silk Road 2.0, a marketplace launched by Thomas White. He was responsible for analyzing and extracting cryptocurrency from seized devices. In May 2017, he moved 50 Bitcoin from a confiscated wallet, breaking the sum into smaller amounts and routing them through the Bitcoin Fog mixing service before cashing out via debit cards in 279 transactions totaling £144,580.
The theft was initially blamed on White, who denied it for years. The missing coins were considered untraceable until a 2022 search of Chowles' home uncovered devices with the private keys. Merseyside Police, with assistance from Chainalysis, traced the funds. Chowles was dismissed by the NCA on July 11, 2025, and subsequently jailed for five years and six months at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2025 after pleading guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property.
"Paul Chowles exploited a position of trust for personal gain, stealing assets that had already been recovered through law enforcement action," said Luke Clements, a specialist prosecutor in the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division. A compensation order has also been made for the victim in the case.