Couple mistakenly paid $10.5M by Crypto.com defends spending spree as contest winnings

Partners Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh are on trial in Australia on charges of related theft. $10.5 million error Crypto.com side.

In May 2021, cryptocurrency exchanges mistakenly processed a $100 refund to Manivel as $10.47 million. But it wasn’t until December 2021 that an internal audit detected an error.

Crypto.com compliance officer Michi Chan Fores told the court that the process involves manual entry into Excel. But in this case, due to human error, Manibel was receiving more than 100,000 times what she was due.

The company processed the payment, sent it to a payment provider partner in Australia, and paid Manibel’s bank account. Singh was the holder of his Crypto.com account, but Manivel’s card and bank details were tied to the account.

Singh defends Crypto.com money as contest win

After receiving the push notification, Singh told the court he believed he won the prize in the contest. He told Manibel the same, he said.

However, Chan Fores explains that no such contest exists and does not confirm contest winners via push notifications.

Manibel was arrested at Melbourne Airport in March 2022 on suspicion of attempting to flee to his native Malaysia. She pleaded not guilty to her three charges, including theft and handling criminal proceeds. Singh also pleaded her innocence.

Despite having a one-way ticket, Manibel said she was unaware of the criminal charges at the time of her arrest and was flying to Malaysia to see her ex-husband and children.

waste

The court said the duo used the money to buy four homes and $4 million was transferred to a Malaysian bank account. The rest of the money was spent on gifts, cars, art and furniture.

Most of the funds have been repaid, but $3 million remains missing. Crypto.com has launched a civil suit against relatives of the pair to seize assets purchased with the funds.

The court will reconvene on 8 November.