Ex-NCA Officer Jailed for Stealing £4.3m in Bitcoin from Silk Road Probe
A former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer has been locked up for swiping Bitcoin worth over £4.3 million. Paul Chowles, 42, was sentenced today at liverpool/" title="Liverpool" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Liverpool Crown Court for nicking 50 Bitcoin seized during the 2017 arrest of Silk Road kingpin Thomas White.
Betrayal of Public Trust
Chowles, a father-of-three and digital forensics expert, exploited his insider access to transfer the cryptocurrency from a secure USB to his own accounts. The Bitcoin was originally worth £59,000 but rocketed in value since. He then covertly cashed out some, splashing around £144,000 on living costs — including nursery fees for his kids.
The theft only came to light after White, freed from prison, reported 50 stolen Bitcoins in May 2022. This triggered a probe that exposed Chowles’s audacious betrayal.
How Cryptocurrency Was Exploited
White, once a leading figure on the notorious Silk Road black market, insisted the missing Bitcoin could only have been accessed from inside the investigation team. “We expect the highest standards from our officers and will act robustly when they are breached,” said an NCA spokesperson.
Quick Facts
- The Silk Road was a secret online black market shut down by US authorities in 2013.
- Thomas White was caught in 2017 with 97 Bitcoin on a USB stick.
- Chowles joined the investigation soon after the Bitcoin seizure.
- Bitcoin’s value surged more than 70-fold between 2017 and 2025.
