Former Officer Ordered to Repay £1.8 Million in Stolen Bitcoin
An ex-National Crime Agency officer must repay £1.8 million after stealing Bitcoin seized from criminals.
Paul Chowles, a former officer with the National Crime Agency (NCA), has been ordered to repay £1.8 million after he stole Bitcoin that had been seized during an investigation. Chowles was part of a team that analyzed and extracted cryptocurrency from digital devices confiscated in a probe into Thomas White.
White was jailed for 64 months in 2019 for selling illegal goods on the dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0. Following his arrest, 97 Bitcoin were seized from a digital wallet associated with him. Investigators noted that 50 Bitcoin had been withdrawn from the wallet and initially suspected White might have accessed it while in custody. However, it was discovered that Chowles had taken the Bitcoin in 2017 and attempted to conceal the theft through subsequent cryptocurrency transactions.
Merseyside Police launched an investigation into the stolen Bitcoin, leading to Chowles' arrest in May 2022. Authorities subsequently recovered 30 Bitcoin from him.
Luke Clements, from the Crown Prosecution Service's proceeds of crime division, stated that Chowles had "exploited a position of trust for personal gain." He added, "Confiscation Orders are a powerful tool in ensuring that crime does not pay. Today's order sends a clear message that we will pursue offenders' assets relentlessly and seek to recover criminal proceeds wherever they are hidden."