Paul Chowles, a 42-year-old former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer, has been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for stealing 50 Bitcoin (BTC) worth £4.4 million ($5.9 million) during a 2014 investigation into Silk Road 2.0. The theft occurred in May 2017 when Chowles exploited his role analyzing seized devices from darknet marketplace co-founder Thomas White, transferring 50 BTC from a "retirement wallet" using private keys obtained during the probe.
At the time of theft, the Bitcoin was valued at just £59,000. Chowles laundered the funds through Bitcoin Fog—a cryptocurrency mixing service—before converting them to fiat via Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards. Between 2021-2022, he spent £23,309 through Cryptopay and £79,885 via Wirex across 279 transactions.
The crime went undetected for years, initially blamed on White himself. The breakthrough came in 2022 when White—released from prison—alerted Merseyside Police that only NCA personnel could access the wallet keys. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis then traced the laundered funds through complex transactions, leading to Chowles' May 2022 arrest. Evidence included notebooks with wallet credentials found in his office and a dormant wallet holding ~30 BTC recovered from his home.
Chowles pleaded guilty in May 2025 to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealment. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed he benefited £613,147 from the crime and will pursue confiscation proceedings.