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Police in New Zealand are searching for a couple who disappeared after a banking blunder deposited $6 million in their account.
The couple had applied for a NZ$10,000 overdraft but received NZ$10m in their business account instead, part of which they withdrew, local media report…
Police believe the couple have left the country and Interpol has been alerted for assistance.
Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling said the bank was “pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action to recover a sum of money stolen“.
Adding that the incident had prompted a review of how it had occurred, he said he would not comment on the specifics of the case due to the police investigation and court actions requiring confidentiality.
They don’t dare let out a peep. It’s already embarrassing enough.
Last I heard, they made off with about $4M.
Rock on!
Run my friends run! Never look back, never turn back, just run and run!
When I was younger and employed, I would have returned the money.
Now? Hah, hah.
I used to think I would have returned the money.
Now, I’m with bobbo, hah, hah.
A few things:
How the hell do you withdraw $4m without the bank manager knowing?
How come we can’t “pursue vigorous actions to recover a sum of money stolen” when the banks get $4m of our dollars without us knowing?
Why do these bureaucrats INSIST on using this bureau-speak?
‘Recover a sum of money stolen’? Why not just say, ‘recover the stolen money’?
And this, ‘the individuals…the individuals…the individuals’ Why can’t they just say, ‘these two,’ or ‘people’?
This reminds me of the cops in Idiocracy: ‘this particular individual…’
Were do you hide though? India or Brazil maybe. Odds are they’ll get caught.
lol “Where”
Didn’t everyone with a sub-prime mortgage do exactly the same thing?
#6 jim
You could hide anywhere that does not have extradition treaties with Australia.
Ooops or New Zealand……….
Buy a yacht and stay at sea and put the rest of the money in an interest bearing account in a country with strict bank secrecy. Sounds like retirement to me.
They’ve gone to Nigeria to strike it rich(er).
#9 I wonder which countries don’t. If they get away with they’ll be able to also live off their fame like Ronnie Biggs.
The bank is insured.
Another bank chocking on NATs but swallowing the elephant whole.
Shit, the Fed and the banks blithely can’t keep track of TRILLIONS, yet they get torn up about someone absconding with a mere million or so dollars because of thier mistake.
Had it been the other way around, do you think the banks would admitted their mistake and given the money back?
The bank gave the couple the money and now they call the couple thieves? I’m not sure that’s fair.
#16 – Noname: Calm down, take a breath. It’s likely the Fed and the “TRILLIONS” are not feeling very torn up by events in another country half a world away.
# 5 brm said, “How the hell do you withdraw $4m without the bank manager knowing?” Likely it was an internet wire transfer. No human involved. But, that also gives the finance cops someplace to start looking.
Once, an ATM gave me an extra $20. By the time I got home, the phone was already ringing…
Isn’t it interesting how the banks know when you or I get money that we don’t deserve? But when the Federal Reserve hands the banks billions in bailouts, they loose track of it?
The maximum term if caught is seven years in jail. It’s less if the crime wasn’t planned, which, clearly, it wasn’t. On the basis of the way judges dish out sentences here in New Zealand, he’ll (if caught) get around eighteen months in jail. I understand he’s Korean and currently in Hong Kong. If he makes it to Korea, it appears that he’s home free, because they have no extradition agreement with NZ. (Please correct me if this is wring).
At first I thought “Paraguay is about to get two new residents,” but if they are Korean and in Hong Kong and apparently headed for Korea, perhaps not.
Sadly, these days $4 million (is that US or NZ?) — either way, it’s not really enough to make two people rich for life. Although I guess you could be pretty comfortable for 40 years…
$4 million would go a lot further in the third world. Unfortunately they’ll have to do business through proxies(enter the criminal element). They’ll probrably pick them clean in no time, if they don’t just off them and take the cash.
Westpac is an Australian Bank. As such it didn’t get any hondouts from the USA. Also, as far as I am aware it never asked for or got any assistance from the Australian or New Zealand governments.
While this is an embarassing mistake, in the context of the mess the US and European banking systems are in, it hardly seems worth a mention.