UK officer jailed for 50 Bitcoin theft during Silk Road 2.0 probe

Key Points

1. Paul Chowles, an ex-NCA officer, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for stealing 50 Bitcoin (now worth $5.9 million) seized from Silk Road 2.0 co-founder Thomas White.

2. Silk Road 2.0 was a successor to the original Silk Road, operating for about a year before being shut down after the FBI arrested its founder, Ross Ulbricht, in 2013.

3. Chowles transferred the stolen Bitcoin in 2017, using crypto mixers to obscure the trail, and spent around £109,425 ($146,580) via crypto-enabled debit cards.

4. The theft was uncovered after White alerted authorities, leading to Chowles' arrest by Merseyside Police; notebooks with White's crypto account details were found in Chowles' office.

5. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) plans to pursue confiscation proceedings against Chowles, estimating his financial benefit from the theft at around £613,150 ($821,345).