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The UK Crown Persecution Service (CPS) has filed charges against a law enforcement agent for allegedly stealing 50 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2017. This development comes amidst continuous efforts by the UK Government to deliver a crypto legislative framework.

National Crime Agency Officer Faces Jail Time Over £60,000 Bitcoin Theft

In a recent news post, Head of the CPS Special Crimes Division Malcolm McHaffie announced an indictment against National Crime Agency (NCA) officer Paul Chowles for the alleged theft of crypto assets worth £60,000 ($75,000). 

Chowles, a 42-year-old man from Bristol, is accused by Merseyside Police of misappropriating 50 Bitcoin during an active probe into online organized crime in 2017. Following the sporadic growth of the BTC market in recent years, the reported loot of 50 BTC is now valued at £3.2 million ($4.2 million).

According to a statement by McHaffie, the defendant now faces 15 counts of crime relating to this offence and is expected to appear at the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 25 April 2025.

The CPS Division Chief 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. 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.

According to UK regulations, each count of money laundering i.e. concealing, disguising, or converting criminal property could result in a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Similarly, a single charge of acquiring, using, or possessing criminal property also carries a potential 14-year sentence. However, a conviction for theft carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

Therefore, If found guilty of the charges presented, Chowles could be looking at over 200 years in prison theoretically. Albeit, that is not unlikely as typical judicial rulings usually favor concurrent sentencing.

UK To Begin Consultation On Stablecoins

In other news, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to release consultation papers on stablecoin regulations before Q1 2025 in line with its crypto policy roadmap released in 2024. This initiative is to gain valuable insights on stablecoin concepts such as redemption and asset backing as the HM Treasury moves to introduce new regulated activities for fixed digital assets.

Amidst this exercise, the FCA will also release discussion papers on key concepts including lending, trading platforms, and staking as the UK continues to formulate its crypto regulatory framework which is planned for implementation in 2026.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $84,391 following a 4.30% gain in the past day. 

Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview

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The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) continues to “resist” transparency efforts regarding alleged past attempts to quash the crypto sector, according to Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal.

Grewal references “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” an alleged attempt by the Biden Administration government regulators to stifle the crypto industry.

Coinbase has been using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to uncover instances of the FDIC asking banks to freeze crypto services, known as “pause letters,” but Grewal says they are not fully complying.

The exchange hired the law firm History Associates, which filed a motion in January asking a federal court to intervene.

Explains Grewal,

“One of our requests concerns FDIC’s representation in a hearing before the Court that the agency had conducted “due diligence” to ensure that no documents were destroyed. We asked FDIC to describe what example that due diligence was. But FDIC has repeatedly refused to do so, and now takes umbrage at the request to explain the basis of its assertion to the Court.

In response to our requests for FDIC guidance or policies on processing FOIA requests—directly relevant to our policy-or-practice claims—the agency has produced only snippets from a few documents that have little to nothing to do with the specific FOIA policies or practices that History Associates has challenged in its amended complaint. What exactly are they hiding?”

Last month, the FDIC released redacted documents related to its supervision of crypto-related activities, which include pause letters sent to 24 banks as well as communications and records involving other regulated institutions.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) subsequently sent a letter to FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill requesting unredacted copies of the documents.

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