Jatinder Singh, the 37-year-old partner of Melbourne woman Thevamanogari Manivel, was found by the Victorian County Court to have received $10.5 million instead of a $100 refund by mistake.
Although Senior Constable Conor Healy argued that roughly $7 million had been recovered and that Singh could get away with the balance, Judge Daniel Holding insisted on bail.
Court grants bail to Singh
Recall that while processing a $100 refund for Singh’s crypto transaction, a Singapore exchange employee mistakenly sent money to Moneywell’s bank account. Although the incident occurred in May 2021, Crypto.com discovered it seven months later in December during an audit.
The exchange contacted Moneywell in February 2022 to request the refund. However, she had already transferred $10.1 million to a joint account with Singh. The woman also bought a luxurious five-bedroom house in Craigieburn for her sister for $1.35 million and spent a significant amount on art, gifts, vehicles and furniture.
Eventually, Manivel transferred $4 million to an offshore account under his name and $1 million to an account in Singh’s name.
As crypto potato As reported in August, Crypto.com launched a legal battle against Manivel for the return of the money spent. During the court hearing, Manivel claimed that Singh told him that he had won money in a Crypto.com contest, so he failed to return the money.
Both Manivel and Singh pleaded not guilty to several charges against them, with the former being granted bail during the hearing, while the latter remained in custody.
Judge says Singh can’t flee Australia
While authorities have recovered $7.3 million, $3.1 million is owed, with $2.2 million still in offshore accounts.
Despite protests from Constable Healy and prosecutor Peter Boutros, who argued that it was easy for Singh to flee Australia as he had no job, stable residence or family before his arrest, the judge ruled in favor of bail.
Judge Holding insisted that Singh would be unable to flee the country because he would have to surrender his passport as part of his bail conditions.
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source: cryptopotato.com
