A former officer with the UK’s National Crime Agency has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison after stealing 50 Bitcoin—now worth over $5.9 million—originally seized from a Silk Road 2.0 investigation.
Paul Chowles, who worked on the dark web task force, pleaded guilty earlier this year to theft and money laundering charges tied to the stolen crypto.
The Bitcoin had been taken from Thomas White, co-founder of Silk Road 2.0, following his 2014 arrest. In 2017, 50 BTC—then worth around $79,000—were quietly transferred from a seized wallet to another address.
Chowles attempted to hide the theft using Bitcoin Fog, a crypto mixing service. Some of the assets were later converted into cash or loaded onto crypto-enabled debit cards, according to blockchain firm Chainalysis.
The stolen funds initially went unnoticed, as investigators assumed White had managed to access his wallet. But White later told police it had to be an insider job, triggering a deeper inquiry.
Chowles had attended meetings about the investigation while quietly covering his tracks. Detectives later found one of his phones linked to the transfers, as well as notebooks containing account details and credentials tied to White’s holdings.
The CPS said Chowles spent over £109,000, but profited by around £613,000 ($821,000) in total. Authorities confirmed that confiscation proceedings are underway.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at Coindoo
Kosta joined the team in 2021 and quickly established himself with his thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication, and analytical thinking. He not only covers a wide range of current topics, but also writes excellent reviews, PR articles, and educational materials. His articles are also quoted by other news agencies.
Source: https://coindoo.com/ex-nca-officer-sentenced-for-stealing-bitcoin-from-silk-road-2-0-case/