{
  "id": 11145831,
  "title": "Ex-NCA officer ordered to surrender £1.8M for stealing seized Bitcoin",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ex-nca-officer-ordered-to-surrender-1-8m-for-stealing-seized-bitcoin",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-30T15:11:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/cyber-crime/2026/09/30/ex-nca-officer-ordered-to-surrender-18m-for-stealing-seized-bitcoin/5300179"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer Paul Chowles, 44, has been ordered to surrender over £1.8 million ($2.4 million) for stealing 50 Bitcoin seized during an investigation into Silk Road 2.0. Chowles, who worked on the NCA investigation into criminal activity on the original Silk Road, transferred the 50 Bitcoin from convicted Silk Road 2.0 administrator Thomas White's retirement wallet to an address under his control in May 2017. He then divided the coins and routed them through a Bitcoin mixing service to obscure the transactions. By the time of his sentencing in July 2025, the value of the Bitcoin had risen, leading to a confiscation order of £1,970,759.27. Chowles was dismissed from the NCA in July 2025 and sentenced to five years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property.",
  "summary": "Paul Chowles helped himself to 50 coins while examining devices linked to Silk Road 2.0",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Decrypt",
        "title": "Ex-NCA Officer Must Repay $2.4M for Bitcoin He Stole When It Was Worth $77K",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/ex-nca-officer-must-repay-2-4m-for-bitcoin-he-stole-when-it-was-worth",
        "published": "2026-09-30T15:17:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}