Ex-NCA Officer Must Repay $2.4M for Bitcoin He Stole When It Was Worth $77K

A UK court has ordered former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer Paul Chowles to repay £1,810,678.93, roughly $2.4 million, for stealing 50 Bitcoin from a wallet seized during the Silk Road 2.0 investigation in 2017. Prosecutors say the larger repayment amount reflects the cryptocurrency's appreciation since the theft, and the order includes the current value of the 30 recovered coins. The Crown Prosecution Service obtained the confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Chowles, who led analysis and extraction of cryptocurrency from devices in the Silk Road 2.0 probe, moved 50 BTC out of a confiscated wallet in May 2017. The coins originally came from the marketplace founder Thomas White's reserve wallet. According to the prosecution, Chowles split the sum into smaller amounts, routed them through the Bitcoin Fog mixing service, and cashed out using Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards across 279 transactions totaling £144,580.

For years the missing coins were attributed to White, who denied the allegation. By late 2021 the funds were considered untraceable, but a 2022 search of Chowles' home uncovered devices containing private keys. Merseyside Police, aided by Chainalysis, traced funds through the mixer and recovered 30 BTC from Chowles. He pleaded guilty to theft, transferring criminal property and concealing criminal property, and in July 2025 was sentenced to five years and six months in prison; the NCA dismissed him on 11 July 2025.

The CPS has also made a compensation order for the victim in the case. Luke Clements, a specialist prosecutor in the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said Chowles abused a position of trust and emphasized the agency's commitment to pursuing offenders' assets. The CPS division reports recovering more than £530 million through confiscation orders over the past five years and returning over £102 million to victims.