Ex-NCA Officer Ordered to Repay £1.8M for Bitcoin Stolen in Silk Road 2.0 Probe

September 30, 2026 at 08:17 PM2 min

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A UK court has ordered former National Crime Agency officer Paul Chowles to repay £1,810,678.93, about $2.4 million, for stealing 50 Bitcoin during an investigation into Silk Road 2.0. The coins were worth roughly £60,000 when he took them in 2017. The Crown Prosecution Service secured the confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Key Facts

Paul Chowles, 44, of Bristol, was ordered to pay £1,810,678.93 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Chowles stole 50 Bitcoin from a wallet seized during the Silk Road 2.0 investigation, worth about £60,000 at the time.
Thirty of the 50 stolen Bitcoin were recovered from Chowles.
Chowles was jailed for five years and six months at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2025.
The CPS Proceeds of Crime Division has recovered more than £530 million through confiscation orders over the past five years.

The Theft

Paul Chowles was part of the NCA team investigating Silk Road 2.0, the dark web marketplace launched by Thomas White after the original Silk Road was shut down in 2013. Chowles led the analysis and extraction of cryptocurrency from devices seized in the case. Between May 6 and 7, 2017, he transferred 50 Bitcoin from White's 'retirement wallet' to an address under his control. He then divided the coins into smaller amounts and routed them through Bitcoin Fog, a mixing service used to obscure cryptocurrency transactions. Chowles cashed out through Cryptopay and Wirex debit cards across 279 transactions totaling £144,580.

Investigation and Sentencing

The theft was initially blamed on Thomas White, who denied involvement, and by late 2021 the missing coins were considered untraceable. A 2022 search of Chowles' home found devices holding the private keys to the stolen Bitcoin. Merseyside Police traced the funds through the mixer with assistance from Chainalysis. Chowles pleaded guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2025 and dismissed from the NCA on 11 July 2025.

Confiscation Order

The Crown Prosecution Service secured the confiscation order against Chowles on Wednesday under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The order totals £1,810,678.93, approximately $2.4 million, and includes the value of the 30 recovered Bitcoin. The CPS attributed the gap between the original £60,000 value and the confiscation amount to Bitcoin's appreciation since 2017. By the time of sentencing, the CPS valued the 50 Bitcoin at more than £4.4 million, with the benefit figure set at £1,970,759.27. A compensation order has also been made for the victim in the case.