Jatinder Singh, 37, and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on October 11. 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
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 recent media report.
Jatinder Singh, 37, and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on October 11. 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 country and USD 11,000 cash, the report said.
-
As per court documents, Singh, an Indian national, was unemployed and living in Australia illegally at the time of the alleged offence
-
Manivel, who works in aged care and disability services, has lived in Australia for the past six years on a student visa.
-
Based on the amount of luggage she had at the airport, police believe she planned to leave and not return
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 Australian 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 offence, 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.
*********************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com