Former UK NCA Officer Ordered to Forfeit $2.4 Million for Stealing 50 Bitcoins

Odaily reports that former UK National Crime Agency (NCA) officer Paul Chowles has been ordered by a court to forfeit £1,810,700, approximately $2.4 million, for stealing 50 bitcoins from a wallet seized during the Silk Road 2.0 investigation. The bitcoins were worth about $77,000 at the time of the theft in 2017.

Of those, 30 bitcoins have been recovered, and the forfeiture order accounted for their current total value. Paul Chowles pleaded guilty in 2025 to theft, transfer, and concealment of criminal property, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison, and was dismissed by the NCA in July of the same year. (Decrypt)