![](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/41169a86822e6585e2f87627f7d7ef3a?s=32&d=mm&r=g\")
By Mark Hunter<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1 month agoMon Mar 17 2025 08:13:01<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n James Howells, the man at the centre of a high-profile legal dispute over lost <\/span>Bitcoin<\/span><\/a>, has suffered another setback in his battle against Newport City Council. His request for an appeal was rejected by the Royal Court of Appeal, with the judge ruling that his case had \u2018no real prospect of success.\u2019 Howells, however, remains undeterred, declaring that his \u2018next stop\u2019 will be the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Howells, a former IT worker, has been locked in a years-long legal struggle with Newport City Council over access to a landfill site where he believes a hard drive containing a vast Bitcoin fortune\u2014worth hundreds of millions of pounds\u2014is buried. The drive was mistakenly discarded in 2013, and since then, Howells has been campaigning for permission to conduct an excavation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The council has repeatedly refused his requests, citing environmental concerns and the lack of a feasible plan for recovery. Howells has countered these claims by presenting detailed proposals, including funding from private investors and the use of <\/span>cutting-edge AI technology<\/span><\/a> to scan the landfill efficiently. The <\/span>UK High Court ruled<\/span><\/a> in January that Newport County, owners of the landfill site in question, are the legal owners of the hard drive containing the coins, adding that he wouldn\u2019t have allowed permission to dig even if they weren\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n Howells appealed the verdict, but in a LinkedIn post on Friday, he announced that his latest legal avenue in the UK had been shut down:<\/span><\/p>\n Howells criticised the UK legal system, referring to it as \u2018The Great British Injustice System\u2019 and suggesting that \u2018the state always protects the state. The court\u2019s official decision, issued by Lord Justice Nugee, stated that Howells\u2019 appeal had \u2018no real prospect of success\u2019 and that there was \u2018no other compelling reason\u2019 to allow it.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the ruling, Howells has signalled his intention to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. While it remains unclear on what grounds he intends to challenge the decision, he may argue that his rights to property or fair treatment have been violated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With legal avenues in the UK exhausted, the ECHR represents a long-shot attempt to force Newport City Council\u2019s hand. However, such cases can take years to process, meaning that if Howells\u2019 Bitcoin remains in the landfill, time may be his greatest enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"bitcoins](\"https:\/\/fullycrypto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/James-Howells-Bitcoin-Landfill-Dig-Appeal-Fails.png\")
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Bitcoins A Story of Buried Bitcoin<\/span><\/h2>\n
Bitcoins Locked Out on LinkedIn<\/span><\/h2>\n
Bitcoins Howells Takes Batte to Human Rights Court<\/span><\/h2>\n