A UK National Crime Agency officer named Paul Chowles stole 50 Bitcoin (BTC) from a seized crypto wallet during an investigation. The theft occurred around 2017, when the Bitcoin was worth just under £60,000 but later increased to over £4.4 million by the time of his sentencing in 2025.
Chowles abused his privileged access to the seized wallet, misappropriating private keys from devices seized in the investigation. He then transferred the 50 BTC through mixing services in an attempt to obscure the trail and launder the funds. However, advanced blockchain analytics and forensic tools allowed investigators to trace the stolen Bitcoin despite the obfuscation efforts.
The crime went undetected for several years until investigators found evidence linking Chowles to the theft, including notebooks containing passwords and transaction records. He was arrested in 2022, admitted to theft, criminal asset handling and concealment charges, and was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison in 2025.
Authorities managed to recover about £470,000 worth of the stolen Bitcoin from Chowles. The case exposed how blockchain’s public ledger, combined with sophisticated tracing technology, can unveil insider fraud and corruption even within law enforcement agencies. It highlighted the importance of oversight and integrity in handling seized cryptocurrency assets during investigations.
This is a rare example of a law enforcement officer stealing from a criminal investigation’s seized crypto assets and ultimately being caught and convicted through blockchain technology.
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