Bitcoins worth Rs 6,015 crore thrown away by IT engineer's ex-girlfriend. 'I had no idea what was in it'
A Costly Mistake
According to the Daily Mail, Eddy-Evans, who has spoken publicly about the incident for the first time, insists the disposal was unintentional. “The computer part had been disposed of in a black sack along with other unwanted belongings and he begged me to take it away, saying ‘there's a bag of rubbish here to be taken to the tip,” she shared. “I had no idea what was in it but I reluctantly dropped it off at the local tip on the way home from going on the school run. I thought he should be running his errands, not me, but I did it to help out. Losing it was not my fault.”
Howells had mined the Bitcoins in 2009 when the cryptocurrency was in its infancy. However, after a mishap involving spilled lemonade damaged his laptop, he salvaged the hard drive but later discarded it among other old belongings. At the time, Bitcoin’s value was negligible, and the drive’s importance was overlooked.
Realizing the potential worth of the discarded hard drive years later, Howells sought permission from Newport City Council to excavate the landfill. Despite offering to donate 10% of the recovered fortune to the community, his proposals were repeatedly denied. The council cited environmental regulations, with a spokesperson stating, “Excavation is not possible under our environmental permit. Such work would have a significant negative impact on the surrounding area.”
Frustrated, Howells has now filed a lawsuit against the council, seeking $648 million in damages for withholding access to the landfill. A
