Melbourne woman claims she thought her partner had won $10.4 million in bungled Crypto refund
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A woman who allegedly bought a dream home on the back of a $10.4 million Crypto transfer error believed her partner had won it, a court has heard.
The error occurred when Crypto.com planned to refund Thevamanogari Manivel $100 in May 2021, but accidentally entered an account number in a field intended for the dollar amount when making the wire transfer.
On Tuesday, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard Manivel alleging that she had been duped by her co-defendant.
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The dream house was surrounded by weeds and seemed abandoned earlier this month
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Manivel’s attorney, Jessica Willard, told the court that her client was unaware that the money could have been stolen.
“The whole issue regarding Ms. Manivel is the unfair element – whether she knew the money was stolen or not,” she said.
The court heard that on her arrest Manivel told the police that her co-defendant had “won the money.”
‘He also says that in his interview report’, says Ms Manivel.
The $10,474,143 error was only discovered during a company audit just before last Christmas; seven months after the transfer.
But Commonwealth Bank representatives claim the couple was well informed that the money had been transferred by mistake.
Ms. Willard will speak to a CBA representative next month when the case returns to court about how the investigation was conducted.
“They say there was contact along the way to let her know about the funds. CBA is really the crucial witness regarding Ms. Manivel,” she said.
Prosecutor Vanessa Kambouropoulos told the court that the bank had kept a record of correspondence with the suspect.
Manivel, dressed in a blue prison coverall, appeared in court via a video link from Dame Phyllis Frost Center.
The view earlier this month outside the million dollar real estate that Crypto bought
Crypto.com has also taken legal action against Manivel and her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory in an attempt to get his money back.
When Crypto.com claimed it was trying to get its money back, $1.35 million had already been spent on the luxury home and the rest had been moved to other accounts.
Dotted with tall, ugly weeds, the ‘Crypto House’ showed telltale signs of neglect earlier this month when it was visited by Daily Mail Australia.
Crypto currencies had experienced a rapid decline in the month of May last year when the error occurred.
The Craigieburn house, which has four bathrooms, a home gym and cinema, was purchased on Feb. 3 Herald Sun reported at the time.
Four days later, Crypto.com issued freezing orders against Manivel’s bank account, but court documents show that $10.1 million had already been transferred to another joint account and $430,000 had been transferred to her daughter, Raveena Vijian.
The house registration was then handed over to Malaysia-based Ms. Gangadory before Crypto.com could issue freeze orders against her in March.
The company then took legal action with the Supreme Court to recover the cost of the house plus 10 percent interest.
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By default, the action was successful, as neither Ms Gangadory nor her legal representatives attended the court or presented a defense.
Judge James Dudley Elliott orders Ms. Gangadory to pay $1.35 million to Crypto.com, $27,369 interest and fees, and that Craigieburn’s house be sold.
“It is undisputed that Craigieburn’s property was acquired with money traceable to the wrongful payment and would never have been in the hands of Gangadory had the wrongful payment not been made,” Mr Elliott said as he delivered his verdict.
For example, Gangadory was unjustly enriched by receiving the purchase price of the Craigieburn property from the wrongful payment.
“Therefore, I was convinced that the orders regarding the sale of the Craigieburn property were appropriate.”
Thevamanogari Manivel reportedly bought a luxury home (pictured) in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn after accidentally receiving a $10,474,143 bank transfer
The commercial division of the Victorian Supreme Court heard the case in May, but Judge Elliott’s judgement was only made available last month.
Since Ms Gangadory was not represented in court, Judge Elliott wrote that “references to the facts of this case based on such uncontested evidence are necessarily open to challenge if Gangadory ever attempts to quash the default judgment.”
The judge added that she “did not respond to correspondence from (Crypto.com’s) lawyers” and that “the consequence of the non-appearance is that the allegations in the statement of claim are acknowledged.”
Separate orders have reportedly been made regarding the rest of the money transferred to Ms Manivel.
Crypto.com’s lawyers, Cornwalls Law, told the Daily Mail Australia that as the matter is pending in court, it was unable to comment.