Jatinder Singh, the Crypto.com customer who was accidentally sent $10.5m million (AUD) from the exchange in 2021 and subsequently got sued by the exchange, has been granted bail by an Australian court.
The prosecution attempted to persuade the Melbourne County Court on March 20, 2023, that Singh should be imprisoned to prevent him from fleeing the country. They argued that Singh is likely to flee the country for financial reasons, as only $7.3 million had been recovered, and around $2 million of the missing $3 million is believed to have been transferred offshore to Malaysia.
The prosecution also claimed that Singh posed an unacceptable flight risk because he had no relatives in Australia, lived without a visa, and was unemployed before his detention. Senior Constable Conor Healy also warned the judge that Singh might have access to the unrecovered money.
However, Judge Daniel Holding did not find the prosecutor’s and senior constable’s arguments sufficient to justify imprisoning Singh. Instead, he ordered the seizure of Singh’s Indian passport and prohibited him from obtaining a replacement at the Indian Embassy to ensure that he remained in the country.
Singh’s wife, Thevamanogari Manivel, owns the bank account where the money was transferred, and she is also charged with theft alongside Singh. Singh used Manivel’s bank card for crypto transactions. Thus, in May 2021, when an employee of Crypto.com made a mistake and transferred $10.5 million (AUD) instead of issuing a $100 refund as intended, the funds went to Manivel’s account.
According to reports, A significant portion of the money has been sent abroad, while the remaining amount was used to purchase four houses, a car, and other items.
Crypto. com is suing an Australian woman after sending her $10 million accidentally, instead of her $100 refund.
She reportedly bought a house, per Decrypt.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 3, 2023
Manivel was arrested at Melbourne Airport in March while trying to fly to Malaysia with a one-way ticket, and $11,000 cash was found on her. Singh and Manivel both entered not-guilty pleas to the allegations against them, with Singh claiming that he believed he had won a contest from Crypto.com and had informed his wife of this.
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