Thevamanogari Manivel, the Victorian woman who was mistakenly given $10.5 million instead of $100 by CryptoCom, has been released from Melbourne prison after claiming she thought the money was a competition prize from the exchange.
CryptoCom Seeks Refund
Recall that in August, Coinfomania reported that CryptoCom mistakenly transferred $10.5 million to a customer while trying to refund $100 to the person. The incident happened in May 2021, and the exchange did not realize its mistake until December during its annual auditing.
Upon realizing the mistake, CryptoCom reached out to the customer for a refund, but Manivel had already spent some of the money.
She allegedly used $1.3 million on a luxury apartment she registered with her sister Thilagavathi Gangadory, who resides in Malaysia. She also sent $430,000 to her daughter Ravenna Vijian before moving the remaining funds out of her CommonWealth Bank account.
Manivel Claims She Won Contest on CryptoCom
According to The Guardian, Manivel told the Melbourne Magistrate court that she thought the money was won from a competition. She claims that CryptoCom sent her partner a notification about the competition when she received the funds.
However, the company refuted the argument, noting that it did not send its customers notifications of any competition during the transaction window.
Manivel Pleads Not Guilty
Manivel also pleaded not guilty to three charges, such as theft from Commonwealth Bank for removing money from the financial institution and negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime.
The report noted that she had returned some of the money with an outstanding $3 million yet to be paid. The company plans to issue civil charges to freeze the properties purchased from the funds and get her relatives’ money back.
Manivel’s lawyer Jessica Willard also proposed to the court to grant her client bail with a $10,000 surety deposited by her brother. Willard argued that her client was unaware of the legal charges brought against her when she tried to leave Malaysia to see her children and ex-husband in March.
Magistrate Peter Reardon accepted Willard’s release petition and granted bail on strict conditions, including that she surrender her passport and cannot attend any points of departure.
Her hearing is scheduled for November 8 in county court.
Your crypto deserves the best security. Get a Ledger hardware wallet for just $79!
Source: https://coinfomania.com/woman-claims-she-won-10-5m-cryptocom/