Paul Chowles' Bitcoin theft was nearly dismissed until a search in 2022 revealed private keys linking him to the BTCs.

Summary

  • Former British government official Paul Chowles was sentenced to five and a half years for stealing 50 Bitcoins during a 2017 investigation into Silk Road 2.0.

  • Since then, BTC has appreciated and the stolen coins are now worth around $6 million.

  • Chowles used a mixing service, Bitcoin Fog, to launder funds in hundreds of transactions.

A former officer of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) who stole 50 Bitcoins from a criminal network he was investigating was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, following forensic analysis on the blockchain.

Paul Chowles, from Bristol, was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to theft, transfer, and concealment of criminal property, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Wednesday (16).

Chowles was first charged in March 2025 with 15 counts of crimes related to the theft of 50 bitcoins — which at the time of the theft each BTC was worth $77,000 – currently valued at around $6 million, with Bitcoin close to $120,000.

The accused was part of the NCA team investigating Thomas White, who launched Silk Road 2.0 less than a month after the FBI shut down the original site in 2013, according to the statement.

White was subsequently sentenced to 64 months in April 2019. During the investigation, Chowles took the lead in analyzing and extracting cryptocurrencies from White's seized devices.

Chowles transferred the stolen Bitcoin from White's 'retirement wallet' to various accounts between May 6 and 7, 2017, splitting the cryptocurrency into smaller amounts and routing it through Bitcoin Fog, a cryptocurrency mixing service designed to obscure transaction trails.

"He exploited his position working on this investigation to line his own pockets while devising a plan that he believed would ensure no suspicion fell on him," said Alex Johnson, specialist prosecutor from the CPS Special Crimes Division.

Chowles converted the stolen cryptocurrencies using Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards, conducting 279 transactions totaling $144,580 (£144,580) before being caught.

The investigation revealed that he had notebooks in his office containing usernames, passwords, and statements related to White's cryptocurrency accounts.

The theft was initially attributed to White himself, with the NCA assuming he somehow had access to his wallet while in custody.

However, White consistently denied any involvement, and by the end of 2021, the missing Bitcoin was deemed undetectable.

Merseyside police solved the case with the help of blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, which tracked the funds despite their passage through mixing services.

After five years of inactivity, authorities recovered devices containing private keys during a search of Chowles' residence in 2022.

Chief Inspector Detective John Black of the Merseyside Police Intelligence Department said the case showed 'in the clearest terms that no one is above the law.'

The investigation benefited from expanded powers granted to the NCA in 2024, allowing the agency to 'seize, freeze, and destroy' cryptocurrencies used by criminals without requiring arrests.

Chowles was dismissed from the NCA on July 11, according to the statement, and the CPS will now initiate confiscation proceedings to recover the proceeds of crime.