Man demands $647 million from authorities for 7,500 BTC lost in landfill

A resident of the British city of Newport, James Howell, filed a lawsuit against the local city council, demanding $647 million from it for its unwillingness to excavate a garbage dump to find a lost hard drive with 7,500 BTC.

James Howells was forced to resort to legal proceedings after he has been unsuccessfully trying for more than a decade to get permission from the local government to dig up his hard drive with the bitcoins stored on it among 100,000 tons of garbage. Today they are worth about $500 million. The man is ready to finance this search and even share 10% of the amount of bitcoins found with local authorities if the search is successful.

However, the man never received the desired answer from the administration. Newport City Council has repeatedly rejected a Bitcoin investor’s proposal to search for the missing device due to possible environmental concerns. Officials explained that excavating the landfill could have a negative impact on the environment due to the release of toxic gas produced when waste decomposes.

Despite the fact that excavations in the area where the hard drive is supposedly located were recognized as environmentally hazardous, Howells considered the authorities’ arguments unfair, so he intends to proceed through the courts. According to the man, the hard drive was thrown out by his ex-wife along with a garbage bag, into which the device accidentally fell.

Another bitcoin owner under the pseudonym Michael turned out to be more successful. About 11 years ago, he lost the password to his cryptocurrency wallet, which contained 43.6 BTC. Two white hat hackers helped him gain access to the assets.

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