Indian-origin Sikh on trial for $10.4mn crypto bungle in Melbourne
Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Oct, 2022 04:49 PM
Sydney, Oct 11 (IANS) An Indian-origin Sikh and his partner, who received $10.4 million from a cryptocurrency company by mistake, will face trial in Australia over allegations that they spent the money on items including a $1.2 million house.
Jatinder Singh, 37, and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, appeared by video link from prison in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where they were committed to stand trial over theft and other charges, the Canberra Times reported.
Crypto.com intended to refund Manivel $100 but she was erroneously transferred $10,474,143. The company noticed its mistake when an audit was conducted in December 2021.
A subsequent probe found that an employee in Bulgaria, who processed the refund in May 2021, had incorrectly entered $10.4 million into an Excel spreadsheet.
Even though that Crypto.com account was in Singh's name, the transfer was sent to Manivel's account as he used her bank card to buy cryptocurrency, the Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.
Singh allegedly thought he won the money after being sent a notification from the Crypto.com app about a competition. This was also what he told Manivel, a Malaysian national.
Investigations have since revealed that $4 million of the money was allegedly transferred to an offshore bank account with other amounts spent on items including a $1.2 million home in Craigieburn and three other properties, a car, art, furniture and gifts to friends in Melbourne of more than $1 million each, a report in The Age said.
Manivel, presently out on bail, was arrested at Melbourne Airport in March 2022 while allegedly trying to fly home to Malaysia on a one-way ticket with about $11,000 in cash.
The couple will face directions hearing in the County Court on November 8.
The Sikhs in America have hailed the Indian government’s decision to build a religious corridor linking border district of Gurdaspur with historic Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara in Pakistan—fulfilling a long pending demand of the community.
Imran Khan's remarks came days after Trump reiterated that the USD 1.3 billion in aid to Pakistan will remain suspended until the country acts against militant safe heavens inside its territory.
Sikh pilgrims from all over the world on Monday poured into the Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Pakistan's Punjab province to celebrate the 549th birth anniversary of Sikhim's founder, Guru Nanak Dev.
The Lion Air flight, with 188 passengers and crew on board, crashed into the sea off Indonesia's island of Java, minutes after taking off from Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport.
A major US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego was closed for hours after a group of migrants on the Mexican side rushed the border area, leading American Border Patrol agents to fire tear gas at the group.
