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According to an article shared by WalesOnline, James Howells has filed a lawsuit against the Newport City Council for approximately $647 million. Howells made this decision after failing to locate his hard drive containing lost Bitcoin (BTC) 
$104,477 for over a decade.
Bitcoin Hidden in Trash
For more than ten years, Howells has tried to communicate with the council without success. The recent lawsuit was filed due to the council largely ignoring his previous communications. Howells seeks to investigate 100,000 tons of waste and has agreed to fund the team that would conduct this search. The item of interest in the trash would be the hard drive containing his hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, which he would share 10% of with the council for their efforts once the hard drive is found. However, he has not received the response he desired.
According to Howells, the hard drive contains 8,000 Bitcoin, which is currently worth over $500 million. The drive was sent to a recycling center after being accidentally thrown away by Howells’ ex-wife, along with a bag of trash containing the Bitcoin wallet.
Why Can’t the Bitcoin Be Retrieved?
The council rejected the search proposal due to environmental concerns. A council spokesperson stated, “Our council has repeatedly informed Mr. Howells that the investigation is not possible under our environmental permits, and such activities could have significant negative impacts on the environment.”
Howells’ team indicated that 80% of the Bitcoin could be recovered if the hard drive is located. However, the council’s environmental concerns remain the biggest obstacle to the case. This lawsuit is a result of Howells’ decade-long struggle to recover his Bitcoin. The increasing value of Bitcoin has further amplified the significance of this case.
Although the excavation of the area where the hard drive is suspected to be located has been deemed environmentally hazardous by the council, Howells continues to plead and finds the council’s decision unjust.
As a result, this man searching for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of BTC in the trash is now playing his last legal cards. Unless a significant surprise occurs, the hard drive may remain lost indefinitely due to environmental impacts and funding issues. This incident would undoubtedly disturb anyone who experiences it.
