Melbourne: An Indian-origin Sikh man and his Malaysian partner who mistakenly received USD 10.4 million from a cryptocurrency company following an administrative bungle in Bulgaria is facing a trial in Australia over allegations that the couple spent the money on items, including a USD 1.2 million house, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Jatinder Singh, 37, and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The court was told that the company, crypto.com, had intended to refund USD 100 into Manivel's Australian bank account in May 2021 but mistakenly paid USD 10.4 million, news website Brisbane Times reported.
The company became aware of the mistaken payment in December 2021 after a financial audit in Hong Kong uncovered the error. Subsequent investigations found that an employee in Bulgaria had incorrectly entered USD 10.4 million into an Excel spreadsheet.
Singh, who held an account with crypto.com, told police he believed he had won the money from the company before Manivel, a Malaysian national, was arrested at Melbourne Airport in March with a one-way ticket to the South-East Asian county and USD 11,000 cash, the report said.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the couple transferred USD 4 million of the total money to an offshore bank account with other amounts spent on items including a USD 1.2 million home in Craigieburn and three other properties, a car, art, furniture and gifts to friends in Melbourne of more than USD 1 million each.
The Supreme Court has since frozen Manivel's Australian bank accounts and the assets the pair bought, the report said.
According to police, Singh used his partner's bank account to buy crypto, but when the names on the bank account and his crypto wallet did not match, the USD 100 transaction was flagged internally and crypto.com intended to return that amount alone to Manivel's bank account.
As per court documents, Singh, an Indian national, was unemployed and living in Australia illegally at the time of the alleged offending, the report said.
Manivel, who works in aged care and disability services, has lived in Australia for the past six years on a student visa. But based on the amount of luggage she had at the airport, police believe she planned to leave and not return, it said.
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