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The Search for Missing Bitcoin: A Decade of Determination

For over ten years, James Howells, a computer expert based in Newport, South Wales, has been on a relentless quest to retrieve £500 million worth of bitcoin, which he believes was inadvertently lost in a landfill. His case recently returned to the courts, highlighting the ongoing struggle to recover a hard drive containing his digital assets.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, Howells was supported by a team of pro bono lawyers who argued for the possibility of locating the hard drive. They asserted that the search area had been significantly narrowed down, eliminating the notion that it was merely a “needle in a haystack” scenario. Instead, they presented a detailed plan for a targeted excavation to find the valuable hardware.

Howells recounts that in the summer of 2013, while organizing his office, he mistakenly placed the hard drive in a black bag, which was subsequently confused with trash by his then-partner. The bag ended up at a landfill site, and the hard drive has been lost ever since.

Following the incident, Howells immediately approached the Newport city council for assistance in recovering the hard drive, even offering to share a portion of the bitcoin profits with the council. Despite his efforts, the council did not respond favorably to his requests.

In the Cardiff civil and family court, the local authority is pursuing a motion to dismiss Howells’ claim before moving to a full trial at the high court. Representing the council, James Goudie KC argued that Howells has no legal right to the hard drive. He emphasized that items disposed of in landfills automatically become the property of the council, suggesting that Howells’ proposal to share the bitcoin was akin to bribery, as the council could not sell him the lost asset.

On the other hand, Howells’ advocate, Dean Armstrong KC, characterized the search as a precise excavation of a specific location rather than a vague search. He highlighted that the plan had been developed with the help of experts in data recovery and cryptocurrency, reinforcing the credibility of the search efforts.

The court heard that the recovery initiative has garnered support from professionals willing to work for a portion of any potential bitcoin recovery. Howells claims he has pinpointed the hard drive’s location to “cell 2 – area 2” of the landfill site, after consulting the former head of landfill operations at the council.

Howells expressed that the thought of the lost fortune weighs heavily on him, acknowledging that “spending my life working nine to five and thinking about [the fortune] every day” justifies his ongoing pursuits to recover the hard drive.

Prior to the court proceedings, a spokesperson for Newport council reiterated their stance, stating that excavating the landfill is not feasible under their environmental permit and that such an operation would prove detrimental to the local environment. They noted that responding to Howells’ claims has resulted in unnecessary costs for taxpayers that could be allocated to essential services.

As the session concluded, Judge Keyser KC reserved judgment, leaving the outcome of Howells’ prolonged struggle uncertain for now.

Source
www.theguardian.com