A couple from Melbourne who inadvertently received $10.5 million ($6.7 million) will stand trial in October after pleading guilty to theft charges for spending the unintentionally received funds in 2021.
In May 2021, Thevamanogari Manivel made a funds transfer into her partner Jatinder Singh's Crypto.com account. However, the exchange detected a mismatch between the bank account and the exchange account. Consequently, the exchange issued a refund, but instead of refunding the $100 initially deposited, they mistakenly transferred $10.5 million to Manivel's bank account.
This error remained undiscovered until the exchange conducted its annual audit in December 2021. Following a lawsuit filed by the exchange in the Supreme Court of Victoria, a judge ruled that the funds should be returned to the cryptocurrency trading platform.
However, it's alleged that the couple went on a spending spree before the mistake was detected. Reportedly, they purchased four homes, vehicles, and various items and transferred approximately $4 million to a Malaysian bank account. The court has ordered the sale of one of the homes, a five-bedroom property in Craigieburn valued at $1.35 million, with the proceeds to be returned.
In October 2022, the couple argued in court that they believed they had won a prize from a cryptocurrency exchange. Singh claimed to have received prior notifications about a contest from the company. However, Crypto.com's compliance officer, Michi Chan Fores, denied the existence of such a competition, stating that the exchange had sent no such notifications to its users.
Manivel, who was charged with theft, recently admitted to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of a crime in September 2023. She received an 18-month community corrections order, including six months of intensive compliance and unpaid community work, after serving 209 days in detention . Meanwhile, Singh is set to face a plea trial on October 23.
