Former NCA Official Sentenced for Bitcoin Theft
A former law enforcement official from the National Crime Agency (NCA) has received a prison sentence for illicitly appropriating 50 Bitcoin, currently valued at approximately $5.9 million. This cryptocurrency was seized from Thomas White, a co-founder of Silk Road 2.0, a notorious online marketplace that operated after the original Silk Road was dismantled by federal authorities in 2013.
Details of the Case
On Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that Paul Chowles, a former operational officer within the NCA, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison after admitting to several charges including theft, illegal transfer of criminal property, and hiding criminal assets.
Silk Road 2.0 emerged shortly after the FBI intervention that took down the original Silk Road, lasting just one year before its own closure by the FBI. As part of his duties, Chowles was responsible for extracting and analyzing evidence from White’s devices when the NCA seized a total of 97 Bitcoin from White during his arrest in November 2014. However, 50 of those Bitcoin were later transferred to a different wallet in 2017, at which time they had a market value of roughly $79,000. This transfer involved the use of a cryptocurrency mixing service called Bitcoin Fog, designed to obscure the origins of digital assets.
Investigation and Arrest
Special prosecutor for the CPS, Alex Johnson, noted that Chowles was seen as a highly skilled investigator with a deep understanding of crypto and the dark web. Unfortunately, he exploited his privileged position in the investigation for personal enrichment, believing he could evade detection.
Initially, the investigation team thought White might have manipulated his own wallet to make the Bitcoin untraceable. However, White informed authorities he suspected internal wrongdoing, suggesting that only someone in the NCA could have accessed his wallet’s keys.
Following this revelation, law enforcement authorities, including officers from Merseyside Police, initiated an inquiry into the suspected theft of the cryptocurrency. Chowles was subsequently arrested.
Evidence and Financial Gains
During the investigation, police uncovered evidence linking Chowles to the movements of the Bitcoin, including his phone recording activities related to a crypto exchange. They also discovered several notebooks in his office containing critical information about White’s cryptocurrency accounts. Chowles even used two debit cards linked to the cryptocurrency to make expenditures totaling around £109,425 (approximately $146,580). The CPS estimated that Chowles gained around £613,150 ($821,345) from these illicit activities. Further action for confiscation of his assets is expected to follow.
