# Former U.K. National Crime Agency Officer Ordered to Repay $2.4M in Bitcoin

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/25817
Published: 2026-09-30T13:35:48.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-30T13:35:48.000Z
Section: Regulation

> Paul Chowles transferred 50 BTC from a 97-BTC seizure tied to the Silk Road 2.0 investigation in 2017. The coins were worth about $80,000 at the time.

A former U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) officer must repay about $2.4 million after transferring 50 Bitcoin (BTC) from cryptocurrency seized during a darknet drug investigation linked to Silk Road 2.0.

Paul Chowles moved the 50 BTC in 2017 from a seizure containing 97 BTC. The 50 BTC were worth about $80,000 at the time.

The Crown Prosecution Service secured a forfeiture order requiring Chowles to repay the current value of the 50 BTC, about $2.4 million.

Chowles was arrested in May 2022, and authorities recovered 30 BTC from him. He was sentenced to 5½ years in prison for theft and money laundering.