Former NCA officer who stole seized Bitcoin ordered to pay back £1.8 million after stealing seized Bitcoin

A former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer who stole Bitcoin seized during a major dark web investigation has been ordered to pay more than £8 million.

At Liverpool Crown court today (Wednesday 30 September), Paul Chowles, 42, was made subject to a £1,810,678.93 confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The court also ordered that £1,066,956.83 of that sum be paid as compensation towards the outstanding confiscation order of convicted Silk Road 2.0 operator Thomas White, clearing the balance that remained unpaid under his own order.

Chowles was jailed for five years and six months in July 2025 after admitting theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property.

The case followed a Merseyside Police investigation into the theft of 50 Bitcoin which had originally been seized during a joint NCA and FBI investigation into Silk Road 2.0.

As part of his role with the NCA, Chowles was responsible for the extraction and analysis of data and cryptocurrency from devices seized from White. In May 2017, he transferred 50 of the 97 Bitcoin held by the NCA from White's cryptocurrency wallet and attempted to conceal the theft by moving the funds through multiple accounts and cryptocurrency mixing services before converting them into cash.

The stolen Bitcoin was traced through a complex financial investigation involving specialist blockchain analysis. Searches carried out during the investigation uncovered devices, account details and records linking Chowles to the stolen cryptocurrency.

The court heard that Chowles had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £1,970,759.27, with the available amount assessed at £1,810,678.93, which became the value of the confiscation order.

Detective Sergeant David Hale, lead Financial Investigator with the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team (NWROCU), said:

"Paul Chowles abused a position of trust and responsibility for personal financial gain.

"Today's order ensures that he does not benefit from his criminality and demonstrates our determination to pursue offenders' assets, regardless of their background or former position.

"Despite considerable efforts to disguise the movement of the stolen Bitcoin, specialist investigators were able to follow the financial trail and identify the assets linked to his offending.

"This outcome is particularly significant because it not only recovers criminal profits from Chowles but also resolves the outstanding balance of Thomas White's confiscation order. It is an excellent example of law enforcement agencies working together to ensure criminal assets are recovered wherever possible."

The confiscation proceedings were led by the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team, working alongside Merseyside Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and specialist partners.”