UK Crime Officer Jailed for Stealing 50 Bitcoins Worth £4.4M During Silk Road Investigation

Key Points

1. Paul Chowles, 42, transferred 50 of the 97 seized Bitcoins from Thomas White's 'retirement wallet' to public accounts in 2017.

2. Chowles spent £79,885 through a Wirex account and made 279 transactions totaling £23,309 with a Cryptopay card between 2021 and 2022.

3. The theft went undetected for years until Merseyside Police and the NCA discovered the missing Bitcoin during a meeting about the White investigation.

4. Police found notebooks in Chowles' office containing usernames, passwords, and statements related to the theft, and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis assisted in the investigation.

5. Chowles pleaded guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property, with the stolen Bitcoin valued at £59,409 at the time of theft but later worth £613,147.