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The investor claimed that his hard drive may be under 1.4 million tonnes of waste at Newport landfill. His cryptocurrency would be worth £1 billion by the time it is found out. However the court denied the search
The investor said that If discovered, the value of his Bitcoin will exceed £1 billion in future. (Representative/Shutterstock)
Some people work hard day and night to become rich, while some people’s luck makes them millionaires overnight. An unlucky individual who despite amassing Rs 6,290 crore, lost everything due to an oversight.
James Howells, a British resident, informed the High Court that he purchased Bitcoin cryptocurrency in 2013. At the time, its value was negligible, but today it is worth £59.8 crore (₹6,290 crore). Howells explained that, due to a friend’s error, the hard drive containing the cryptocurrency details ended up in the rubbish and was subsequently disposed of in the Newport landfill. He pleaded with the court to grant him permission to search for the hard drive in the landfill.
What did the High Court say?
The High Court rejected James’ appeal to find the hard drive from the landfill. The court dismissed his arguments, including the increasing value of cryptocurrency, his proposal to engage a team of experts for the search, and his offer to share a portion of the recovered value with the council.
The court upheld the Newport Council’s statement that, based on existing law, the hard drive becomes the council’s property upon entering the landfill.
Furthermore, environmental regulations prohibit the removal of items once disposed of in the landfill. Consequently, the court rejected James’ appeal.
Why did the court reject the appeal?
High Court judge Kaiser KC stated that James has no legal basis for his claim. Furthermore, there are no grounds to conduct a trial, rendering it impossible to advance the case. Bitcoin, established in 2009 with no initial value, has since reached a price of 100,000 dollars. James asserts that his currency will soon reach a value of 1 billion pounds.
How difficult is it to find the hard drive?
James told the court that about 1.4 million tonnes of waste is lying in the Newport landfill, and the area where the hard drive is located is in a pile of about 100,000 tonnes of rubbish. If it is discovered, the value of his Bitcoin will exceed £1 billion (₹10,500 crore) in the future. However, the court order has dashed his hopes.
- Location :
United Kingdom (UK)
