One of the most popular crypto platforms in Australia, Crypto.com, accidentally transferred 105,000 more funds to the client than it was obliged to – the error was found after seven months.
The error occurred in May 2021 when the company tried to refund Ms. Thevamanogari Manivel $100. Instead, the operations worker entered the account number instead of the transfer fee and sent the client $10.5 million. The Crypto.com exchange did not go to the Supreme Court of Victoria until February next year.
When Crypto.com’s lawyers tried to return the money to the exchange, it turned out that the woman had already spent $1.35 million on a luxurious five-bedroom house, and transferred the rest to different accounts.
Crypto.com secured an order to freeze Manivel’s bank account, but court documents show that the money is no longer there: $10.1 million went to some other joint account, and $430,000 to the account of Tewamanogari Manivel’s daughter.
As the judicial authorities managed to establish, Manivel moved to permanent residence in Malaysia. Therefore, the plaintiffs failed to serve the order to freeze the account, along with other documents relevant to the proceedings.
The Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria heard the Crypto.com case against a client from May 2022 to August. In view of the absence of the defendant, the judge ruled on the basis of the evidence available to the court. The judge announced that the woman “did not respond to any correspondence from (Crypto.com) attorneys” and that “as a result of the failure to appear, the statements contained in the exchange’s statement of claim are considered accepted.”
As a result, Tewamanogari was ordered in absentia to pay Crypto.com $ 1.35 million, interest in the amount of $ 27,369, pay off legal costs, and also transfer a five-bedroom house to the representatives of the exchange for subsequent sale.
Crypto.com’s attorneys at Cornwalls Law have not said what will happen to the rest of the money erroneously transferred to Manivel, citing the case is still in court.
In January, Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced a temporary suspension of withdrawals. Representatives of the platform referred to suspicious activity that threatens the security of clients’ assets.
