Former NCA officer sentenced for stealing 50 Bitcoin now valued at £4.4m during crime probe
A former member of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for the theft of 50 Bitcoin – currently valued at £4.4 million – during an investigation into criminal activities on the dark web. Paul Chowles, 42, was part of an NCA operation targeting organized crime groups selling illegal items on the Silk Road 1 website in 2013. This collaborative investigation with the FBI led to the conviction of multiple individuals in the UK for drug-related offenses. A subsequent phase of the operation in 2014 resulted in the arrest of Thomas White, who launched Silk Road 2.0 shortly after the closure of the original site by the FBI.
Chowles played a significant role in extracting relevant data and cryptocurrency from devices seized from White. Unbeknownst to the investigation team, Chowles transferred 50 of the 97 seized Bitcoin to various addresses using a “retirement wallet” belonging to White. The transactions were later split into smaller amounts, passed through a cryptocurrency “mixer” called Bitcoin Fog to conceal their origins, and transferred to different public addresses as an attempt to cover the money trail. The stolen Bitcoin was either converted to pounds and withdrawn from Chowles’ account or spent using Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards linked to accounts he set up, resulting in numerous transactions totaling thousands of pounds between August 2021 and February 2022.
Following his dismissal from the NCA, Chowles was found to have financially benefited to the tune of £613,147.29 through his illicit activities involving the stolen Bitcoin. The currency was initially valued at £59,409 but has since soared to over £4.4 million. Chowles, who pleaded guilty to theft and related charges, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after an investigation by Merseyside Police.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s Alex Johnson highlighted Chowles’ abuse of his position in the NCA to profit personally through his criminal actions. Detective Chief Inspector John Black of Merseyside Police emphasized the efforts made to bring Chowles to justice and stressed that no one is above the law, especially those tasked with preventing criminal activities. The case serves as a reminder that law enforcement officials must adhere to the same standards as the public they serve and that Merseyside Police possess the expertise to trace unlawful financial transactions.
The investigation into Chowles began after the discovery that 50 Bitcoin had vanished from a wallet connected to Thomas White. Despite previous assumptions that the lost Bitcoin was untraceable, the full extent of the theft was revealed during POCA proceedings against White. Following White’s suspicion that the Bitcoin was stolen by someone within the NCA, Merseyside Police initiated an inquiry into the missing cryptocurrency, leading to Chowles’ arrest in May 2022. Evidence linking Chowles to the stolen Bitcoin was recovered from an iPhone used to transfer the funds. The case serves as a stark reminder that individuals in positions of power who engage in criminal behavior will face legal consequences, regardless of their affiliation or background.
