𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐄𝐱-𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝’𝐬 £𝟓𝟔𝟗 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞
A woman from the UK has come forward to reveal that she unknowingly threw away a hard drive containing her ex-partner James Howells' Bitcoin fortune, which is currently valued at an eye-watering £569 million ($711 million). Halfina Eddy-Evans, who shares two teenage children with Howells, explained to the Daily Mail that nearly a decade ago, she discarded the device as part of a cleanup after her ex had asked her to clear out some of his belongings. "Yes, I threw away his rubbish. He asked me to," Eddy-Evans stated, adding that she had no idea about the contents of the hard drive. "Losing it wasn’t my fault."
Howells, an IT professional from Newport, Wales, had mined 8,000 Bitcoins back in 2009 when the cryptocurrency was virtually worthless. Years later, he discovered that the hard drive, which contains the private key required to access his digital fortune, had been lost. The device is believed to be buried under an estimated 100,000 tonnes of refuse at a Newport landfill.
In a bid to recover his fortune, Howells has filed a £495 million ($619 million) lawsuit against Newport City Council, accusing them of preventing him from excavating the landfill site. He insists that his Bitcoins are still hidden there, and his legal action seeks to grant him access to the area. However, the council has refused to approve excavation permits, citing serious environmental and logistical concerns. A spokesperson for the council explained that the excavation would violate their environmental permits and could cause significant harm to the surrounding area.
Despite the ongoing legal and environmental battles, Howells remains resolute in his efforts to reclaim the hard drive. He has even vowed to donate 10% of any recovered fortune to transform Newport into a major tourist destination. The court is expected to hear Howells' case in early December, but for now, the valuable hard drive—and its life-changing contents—remain buried and out of reach.