The police officer who stole £4m in Bitcoin and destroyed his own life

Investigator involvement and the theft

A former police officer has been instructed to pay over £1million in compensation to a man he assisted in jailing. However, the offender will ultimately receive none of these funds. National Crime Agency officer Paul Chowles stole Bitcoin valued at more than £4million from Thomas White, who operated a dark web marketplace for narcotics.

This illicit platform, Silk Road, had enabled him to enjoy a lavish lifestyle through the unrestricted trade of class A and B illegal drugs via the site before officers raided his waterside apartment in Liverpool city centre. Chowles, who formed part of the NCA squad that apprehended the Liverpool John Moores University dropout, exploited the chance to pilfer 50 Bitcoin from the individual he had been charged with investigating. This stolen digital currency was valued at approximately £60,000 when it was taken, though its worth subsequently soared to over £4million.

The former intelligence analyst and unit manager was reported to have felt he had “gotten away with” his offences for years, discreetly spending his unlawful proceeds on everyday living costs rather than luxury vehicles or foreign getaways. His audacious plot was eventually only exposed when White was freed from custody and alerted police to the absent coins. With Chowles now imprisoned for several years, his case returned to Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday (30 September), for proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Court proceedings and financial orders

Having been determined to have benefited to the sum of £1,970,759.27 through his criminal activities, Judge Dennis Watson KC ordered him to repay £1,810,678.93 within three months or face an extra month's imprisonment, though this is anticipated to be a formality given the funds are currently held under restraint, reports the Liverpool Echo . Chowles, who participated in proceedings via video link from prison, was additionally instructed to pay £1,066,956.83 in compensation to White as part of this order. Nevertheless, this amount will be paid directly to HM Courts and Tribunals Service and confiscated as part of the latter's own Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings.

Detective Sergeant David Hale , lead financial investigator with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit's asset recovery team, said following the hearing: “Paul Chowles abused a position of trust and responsibility for personal financial gain. Today's order ensures that he does not benefit from his criminality and demonstrates our determination to pursue offenders' assets, regardless of their background or former position.”

“Despite considerable efforts to disguise the movement of the stolen Bitcoin, specialist investigators were able to follow the financial trail and identify the assets linked to his offending,” he added. “This outcome is particularly significant, because it not only recovers criminal profits from Chowles but also resolves the outstanding balance of Thomas White's confiscation order.”

Methods of the digital theft

The same court had previously been told in July last year that Chowles - from Southleigh near Exeter in Devon - was amongst nine members of a digital forensics unit conducting investigations into White, who had assumed control of Silk Road in its reincarnation as Silk Road 2.0 following the FBI's closure of the original site in 2013. This resulted in the NCA confiscating a USB device holding 97 Bitcoin from his upmarket Mann Island flat during their operation.

However, Craig Hassall KC, for the prosecution, explained how this digital wallet, which White had labelled his “retirement wallet”, stayed in NCA custody for over two years until May 2017, when Chowles secretly transferred 50 of the cryptocurrency into his own possession. The now 44 year old managed this by utilising a dark web “mixing service” known as Bitcoin Fog, enabling him to conceal the origin of these funds before transferring the currency into personal accounts. One account, operating under the alias “Friendly P”, had utilised a freshly created email address in the name “P Charles” and was purportedly located in the Netherlands.

Chowles, described as the “very technically minded and knowledgeable” arresting officer and principal investigator in the original case, subsequently spent approximately £140,000 of the stolen funds at supermarkets, “various eating and drinking establishments” and on construction work and childcare costs. However, suspicions started to mount against him in 2022 following White's discharge from custody. Having been imprisoned for five years and four months in 2019, he discovered during related Proceeds of Crime Act enquiries that a quantity of Bitcoin had been removed from his account.

Sentencing and judicial remarks

Chowles was later apprehended at his place of work in May 2022, with numerous notebooks confiscated from his office drawers containing usernames and passwords linked to White's cryptocurrency accounts. He commenced employment with the NCA as an intelligence officer in 2009 and was later elevated to the position of intelligence analyst before being promoted again in 2020 to a managerial role within its Bristol -based technical operations unit. The father-of-three, who had no prior criminal record, was sacked without notice from the agency following his conviction.

Will Parkhill, defending, told the court on his behalf: “He is someone who, it seems, was suffering from anxiety and depression at the relevant time. He was dealing with undiagnosed autism . There was a moderate degree of debt.”

Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC told him: “You were not only involved in that investigation, but you were the lead officer. You were involved in his arrest, and it was you who interviewed him. You commenced employment with the National Crime Agency, an organisation which investigates those who are suspected of committing serious organised crime. You occupied a managerial position. It is trite to say that such a role requires, demands and expects trust, integrity and honesty.”