A UK National Crime Agency officer has been charged with the alleged theft of 50 Bitcoin in 2017, then worth $77,000. Paul Chowles, 42, from Bristol, stands charged with 15 counts of criminal offences in relation to the theft, which he is accused of having committed while working as an operational officer at the NCA.
The alleged theft took place during an ongoing investigation into online organized crime, according to the investigating Merseyside Police. At the time, in 2017, the haul of 50 BTC was worth around $77,000 (£60,000) but by today’s measure the value stands closer to $4 million.
In a statement, Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service Special Crime Division, said: “Mr Chowles, 42, is due to be charged with 11 offences of concealing, disguising, or converting criminal property, three offences of acquiring, using or possessing converting criminal property and a single count of theft.”
Mr Chowles is due to appear at the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 25 April 2025. Mr McHaffie added that, “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial. “It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Stablecoin giant Tether has dramatically escalated its enforcement activity after blacklisting 370 blockchain addresses and freezing approximately $514.64 million worth…
Crypto exchange giant Coinbase experienced a major service outage that disrupted trading, transfers, and exchange operations after…
Cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero has publicly apologized for its handling of the massive Kelp DAO exploitthat drained approximately $292…
Executives from PayPal and Google Cloud said the future of “agentic commerce” — where AI agents autonomously buy goods,…
Crypto exchange giant Kraken is making a major move deeper into the U.S. financial system after its…
A major national security scandal has erupted in Taiwan after prosecutors indicted a Taiwanese news…