James Howells fights legal battle to recover $773M in Bitcoin

James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, is engaged in an ongoing legal battle to recover a hard drive containing private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), valued at approximately $773 million.

The drive, which was accidentally discarded in a landfill in 2013, holds Bitcoin from the early days of the cryptocurrency market and is currently inaccessible due to environmental and legal barriers imposed by the Newport City Council.

Howells provided an update on his efforts to reclaim the lost Bitcoin.

He shared that he is being supported by a team of legal experts, including a King’s Counsel and senior barristers.

To strengthen his case, Howells is also using advanced AI technology to identify relevant legal precedents.

He referred to the case Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns [1996] AC 421, where the court ruled that “equitable compensation” could be awarded in situations where returning the original property was not possible.

Despite the legal hurdles, Howells remains optimistic about the potential recovery.

He stated that, should the hard drive be retrieved, he plans to secure the Bitcoin and compensate stakeholders, including fulfilling promises made to the local community.

Howells also expressed interest in utilising the Bitcoin holdings for future blockchain projects, potentially through tokenisation.

However, his efforts have faced significant resistance from the Newport City Council, which has repeatedly denied permission for excavation due to concerns about the environmental impact.

The council issued a statement on October 11, explaining that excavation would not be feasible under the current environmental permit.

Howells, in response, claimed that the council has violated environmental regulations, citing 100 independently verified pieces of evidence.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin price was $96,112.72.