Paul Chowles, 44, from Bristol, must repay $2,408,203 following a confiscation order secured by the Crown Prosecution Service. The sum covers the benefit from 50 Bitcoin he took from a confiscated digital wallet during a National Crime Agency probe into online crime.

Chowles was jailed for five years and six months at Liverpool Crown Court in July 2025 after pleading guilty to theft, transferring criminal property and concealing criminal property. He was dismissed from the agency the same month.

The theft during a major investigation

Chowles served as an intelligence analyst and unit manager in a digital forensics team examining Thomas White. White ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0 from his Liverpool home, operating under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts and selling illegal goods to organised crime networks.

As part of the operation, officers seized a USB stick containing 97 Bitcoin from White’s apartment. The digital wallet, which White had named his retirement wallet, stayed in National Crime Agency custody for more than two years.

In May 2017 Chowles, who had been the arresting and lead officer on the initial case, transferred 50 Bitcoin into accounts under his control. He used a dark web mixing service known as Bitcoin Fog to obscure the origin of the funds before moving them into private wallets.

At the time of the transfer the 50 Bitcoin were valued at approximately $79,015. Chowles later spent around $186,200 of the proceeds on everyday costs including supermarket shopping, meals and drinks, building work and nursery fees rather than luxury purchases.

How the crime came to light

The missing Bitcoin went unnoticed for years. Investigators initially believed White might have accessed the wallet while in custody. White, who received a 64-month sentence in 2019, denied any involvement. After his release he alerted authorities to the shortfall, prompting a fresh inquiry by Merseyside Police.

Chowles was arrested in May 2022 at the National Crime Agency’s Bristol hub. Officers recovered notebooks from his office drawers containing usernames and passwords linked to White’s cryptocurrency accounts. His iPhone was also connected to an account used in the transfers. Thirty Bitcoin were later recovered from him.

The confiscation order

On 30 September 2026 the Crown Prosecution Service obtained a confiscation order for $2,408,203 against Chowles. The figure includes the current value of the recovered 30 Bitcoin. Any funds paid will contribute toward a separate confiscation order already in place against White.

Failure to satisfy the order can lead to additional prison time. Financial investigators traced the criminal benefit obtained through the offending and supported the proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to prevent further profit from the crime.

The case forms part of wider efforts by the Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Division, which has recovered more than $704 million from confiscation orders over the past five years, with a substantial portion returned to victims as compensation.