Tuesday 27 September 2022 03:44 AM Melbourne woman claims she thought her partner had won $10.4 million in bungled ... trends now
A woman who allegedly bought a dream home on the back of a $10.4million Crypto-transfer bungle believed her partner had won it, a court has heard.
The error happened when Crypto.com intended to give Thevamanogari Manivel a $100 refund in May 2021, but mistakenly entered an account number in the field of the bank transfer that was meant to be the dollar amount.
On Tuesday, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard Manivel claimed she was duped by her co-accused.
Thilagavathy Gangadory - the sister of Thevamanogari Manivel - allegedly bought this home off the back of a massive Crypto.com mistake
The dream home was surrounded by weeds and appeared abandoned earlier this month
Crypto.com mistakenly transferred almost $10.4million to a Melbourne woman
Manivel's barrister, Jessica Willard, told the court her client did not know the money might have been stolen.
'The whole issue in relation to Ms Manivel is the dishonesty element - whether she knew that the money was stolen or not,' she said.
The court heard upon her arrest, Manivel told police her co-accused had 'won the money'.
'That's also what he says in his record of interview,' Ms Manivel said.
The $10,474,143 mistake was only discovered in a company audit just before last Christmas; seven months after the transfer.
But representatives from the Commonwealth Bank claim the couple had been well informed that the money had been transferred by mistake.
Ms Willard will grill a CBA representative next month when the matter returns to court about how its investigation was carried out.
'They say that there was contact along the way to alert her about the funds. CBA is really the crucial witness in regards to Ms Manivel,' she said.
Prosecutor Vanessa Kambouropoulos told the court the bank had kept a record of its correspondence with the accused.
Dressed in blue prison, Manivel appeared in court via video link from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
The view earlier this month outside the million-dollar property Crypto bought
Crypto.com has also launched legal action against Manivel and her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory in an effort to get its money back.
When Crypto.com claims it tried to get its money back, $1.35million had already been spent on the luxury house and the rest
