How did the policeman ended up becoming a thief?
In a major violation of confidence in the British police, Paul Chowles, officer of the National Crime Agency (NCA), stole 50 Bitcoin (BTC) in a seized portfolio linked to Thomas White, operator of Silk Road 2.0.
The flight took place in 2017 when the cryptocurrency was estimated at a total of around 60,000 British pounds (around $ 79,000). As Chowles was captured, the value of cryptography had reached more than 4.4 million pounds (about $ 5.9 million). The 42 -year -old Bristol officer used Dark Web and crypto mixing services to divide stolen bitcoin into smaller quantities, transferring them via cryptography exchanges and prepaid cards to hide their source.
Initially, the investigators suspected that White had found access to his funds in detention, but the detailed analysis of the blockchain revealed Chowles as guilty. His arrest, condemnation and five and a half years sentence show that the traceability of the blockchain can even expose initiates, proving that no one is above the law.
Context: Silk Road 2.0, Thomas White and NCA
In 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States closed the online illegal market known as Silk Road, which facilitated the trade in drugs and illegal goods on the Dark Web. Shortly after, Silk Road 2.0 was launched by National Thomas White British, quickly gaining popularity.
This successor site was also dismantled in 2014 thanks to a collaboration effort between the British authorities and the FBI. During the investigation, the authorities confiscated 97 BTC from White. These funds were located in a “retirement portfolio” and appointed to seize within the framework of its sentence.
Paul Chowles, a 42-year-old officer from Bristol, was a main analyst of cryptography for the NCA and was responsible for the extraction and management of White’s cryptocurrency. Chowles’ expertise was vital in the tracing, security and documentation of these digital assets for the application of laws.
The role of Chowles in White’s investigation gave him access and the possibility of committing one of the most important internal flights of the NCA.
Did you know? In 2021, the American authorities seized more than 94,000 BTC linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack, worth more than $ 3.6 billion at the time. He has marked one of the most important financial crises in American history.
How did Chowles commit the flight of crypto?
Between May 6 and 7, 2017, Chowles committed a flight that would ultimately reject him with his work and take him to prison.
As the Crypto’s main analyst in the Thomas White survey, Chowles used its privileged access to secretly transfer 50 BTC, worth around 60,000 pounds, from the “retirement portfolio” of White. To hide the source of stolen funds, he divided Bitcoin into smaller quantities and channeled them via Bitcoin Fog, a crypto mixing service designed to obscure the transaction trails.
Initially, the investigators suspected that White, a qualified pirate, could have gone to his confiscated prison assets. For years, the flight remained unresolved and at the end of 2021, the NCA considered the 50 BTC not found. Chowles’ carefully planned deception seems to succeed until the blockchain analysis later revealed its fraud and highlighted its actions.
After stolen funds in the White seized portfolio, Chowles worked quietly to convert the cryptocurrency into cash. While the value of Bitcoin jumped between August 2021 and May 2022, it began to exchange parts of the funds using friendly platforms such as Cryptopay and Wirex.
These services allowed Chowles to convert BTC into British books, to which it accessed via linked debit cards. During this period, Chowles carried out 279 transactions, spending around 23,000 pounds between August 26, 2021 and May 20222. Between August 30, 2021 and February 22, 2022, Chowles converted and made five withdrawals totaling 6,232 pounds.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Chowles, between August 27, 2021 and July 14, 2021, used the Wirex account and the debit card to spend the sum of 79,884.77 pounds (worth $ 107,438.62 on July 25, 2025). The CPS estimated its earnings at 613,147.29 pounds (worth $ 824,634.05 on July 25, 2025).
The use by Chowles of traditional financial platforms, combined with its cautious efforts to disguise transactions, reflected its conviction that it could avoid detection. However, the volume and model of its expenses provided key evidence that allowed investigators to trace the stolen funds.
Did you know? Governments have generally seized Bitcoin. The US Marshals Service has sold tens of thousands of BTC since 2014, some prizes took the first crypto adopters like Tim Draper, transforming the resumption of government assets into unexpected opportunities for investors.
Chowles investigation and disentangling
At the beginning of 2022, after his release, White informed the authorities that only an initiate of the NCA could have accessed the private keys to his Bitcoin portfolio seized, which prompted a police investigation of Merseyside on Chowles.
The investigators seized the phone and the Chowles notebooks, discovering the identification information, the browser history and the details of the portfolio which directly linked it to the flight of 50 BTC in 2017. Using the analysis of the chainysysis, the authorities traced the funds stolen by the means of Bitcoin Fog, a crypto-melange service, in various exchanges, identifying the monetary trace despite Chowles efforts to obscure computer science.
The combination of digital criminalics and blockchain analysis has exposed its scheme. Chowles’ meticulous attempts to escape disentangled detection. After nearly three years of legal proceedings, Chowles pleaded guilty in March 2025 as the crow, transferring criminal goods and hiding criminal goods. His actions have underlined the serious question of the misconduct of initiates within the police, given his role as trusted analyst of the cryptography of the NCA of trust.
In July 2025, the Liverpool Crown Court sentenced the 42 -year -old man to five and a half in prison. On July 11, 2025, the NCA rejected Chowles for raw fault. The conviction was both a punishment and a reminder that even the officials of the application of the law face its consequences when they betray the confidence of the public.
Alex Johnson, a specialized prosecutor at the CPS, said that Chowles “took advantage of his position working on this investigation by aligning his own pockets while developing a plan which, according to him, would guarantee that suspicion would never fall on him.”
The chief inspector of the detective John Black, who investigated Chowles with the help of the NCA, said: “It will be extremely disappointing for all those that someone involved in the law application could be involved in the very crime of which they are responsible for investigating and warning.”
After the consequences and recovery of chowles assets
After the conviction of Chowles, the authorities worked to recover the stolen cryptocurrency. They seized nearly 470,000 pounds from the accounts and assets of Chowles, equivalent to 30 BTC with current values.
The CPS has initiated current confiscation procedures to recover the remaining unlawful gains for the State. The NCA also discussed assets linked to the operator of Silk Road 2.0 Thomas White. Of the 97 BTC initially seized in white, 47 BTC remained in detention and were sold by the NCA in accordance with the court order, generating approximately 1 million pounds.
These recoverys demonstrate the growing capacity of the State to retrace, enter and convert digital assets into funds, even when they have been bleached or linked to complex criminal diets, ensuring that neither criminals nor corrupt initiates can escape the result of their actions.
Did you know? Crypto attacks often involve cross -border teamwork. Agencies like Europol, Interpol and the FBI share the Blockchain Intelligence to recover illicit funds. These joint efforts have led to coordinated withdrawal from Darknet markets such as Hydra, where hundreds of millions in crypto have been frozen and confiscated.
Key lessons from Chowles cryptographic flight
The case of Paul Chowles recalls that even the initiates of the police may be tempted to use the assets they are responsible for protecting. However, this also underlines how the transparency of blockchain and advanced investigation tools can reveal hidden crimes, even years after their arrival.
Here are the key lessons in the case of Chowles and its wider implications:
- Blockchain tracability: Despite Chowles’ efforts to hide the flight using Bitcoin fog, the analysis chain traced the stolen funds almost five years later, demonstrating the effectiveness of blockchain analysis.
- Risks of initiates: Chowles access to private keys and medico-legal tools reveals how trusted officers can become risks, resulting in more strict internal guarantees.
- Legal and regulatory impacts: The case highlights the need to improve protocols to manage cryptocurrency assets, resulting in an improvement in crisis and recovery processes and increased surveillance within the police.
