The story of James Howells from Wales may go down in textbooks as one of the most expensive lessons in inattention. The Newport resident accidentally threw away a hard drive containing about 7,500 bitcoins. Today, the value of this cryptocurrency is estimated at more than $700 million.
Court Rejection: Dream Lost Forever
In 2013, Howells' girlfriend threw the disc away, and it took him years to realize his mistake. He suggested to the local authorities of Newport that they conduct a large-scale excavation of the city dump where his digital fortune now rests.
To motivate officials, James promised 10% of the possible sale of bitcoins. However, the local council refused, citing the law, according to which discarded property becomes the property of the landfill, as well as environmental restrictions.
A British court rejected Howells' claim, saying his demands had no legal merit.
Why is searching impossible?
The Newport landfill holds more than 1.4 million tons of waste, but Howells says he has pinpointed the exact area where the disc is located, which contains about 100,000 tons of waste.
Despite the conviction of success, officials refused to make concessions. "This decision left me with nothing. I became another victim of the "great British system of crooked justice," James said.
A chance lost forever
Howells is confident that the data on the disk can be recovered even after years, despite possible corrosion of the case. His attempts to attract the attention of the authorities were unsuccessful: "Don't think of me as greedy. I was ready to share the profits, but not a single official wanted to talk to me normally."
Do you think the system should accommodate the person in such a case?