The UK Court of Appeal has rejected James Howells’ request for permission to search a landfill for his hard drive containing 7,500 BTC (approximately $621.9 million). Howells announced the decision on X.

Appeal request to the Royal Court of Appeal: refused

The Great British Injustice System strikes again…

The state always protects the state.

Next stop: ECHR pic.twitter.com/KFYRSbsEPo
— James Howells (@howelzy) March 14, 2025

The court ruled that there were “no real prospects of success” and “no other compelling reasons” to grant his request.

“The great British system of injustice strikes again… The state always protects the state,” Howells commented.

In the coming weeks, the Briton plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Speaking to Cointelegraph, he stated that he would demand recognition of violations of his property rights and the right to a fair trial by UK courts.

“The British establishment wants to sweep this under the rug, and I won’t let them. This won’t end—no matter how long it takes,” he added.

The ECHR cannot overturn a UK court ruling, but a verdict in Howells’ favor would require British courts to reassess whether their interpretation of the law aligns with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Earlier, in January 2024, the UK High Court also dismissed Howells’ claim, citing “no real prospect of success.”

Howells’ hard drive, containing the private keys to his Bitcoin wallet, was accidentally discarded in 2013 and later transported to the Newport Docksway landfill. Since then, he has made multiple attempts to retrieve the device, offering money to authorities and proposing searches using X-ray scanning and Boston Dynamics robot dogs.

The UK government plans to seal off the Newport landfill between 2025 and 2026. Howells has already expressed his willingness to purchase part of the site to continue his search.

Experts believe the chances of finding the hard drive and recovering its data are close to zero.