will_doyle
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Registered: 25th Nov 08
Location: Exeter
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Police are hunting an Asian couple thought to have fled the country with millions of dollars, after a banking error.
The couple, who ran a Rotorua service station, are understood to have applied to Westpac Bank for a $10,000 overdraft and mistakenly had $10 million paid into their account.
A Westpac spokesman today refused to confirm the amount mistakenly given to the couple, though said the bank was "pursing vigorous criminal and civil action to recover the sum of money stolen".
He said human error was responsible for the couple's substantial windfall, not a systems error, and that the bank was reviewing its procedures.
Police had asked international police liaison organisation Interpol to help find the couple.
The service station has closed and gone into receivership.
Officer-in-charge Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of Rotorua CIB was prepared only to say that an investigation had been launched into a substantial sum of money that had been "mistakenly advanced" from Westpac.
Police had received a complaint from Westpac relating to people living in Rotorua.
He refused to say how much money was involved.
Police were investigating because the Westpac bank considered what had happened was theft or fraud, through the use of a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage, Mr Harvey told Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper.
He confirmed some of the money mistakenly advanced had been withdrawn from the bank account but was not prepared to say how much money was involved.
He expected the investigation to "take some time".
Banking Ombudsman Liz Brown told The Daily Post that generally speaking it was a criminal offence for someone to spend money accidentally put into their bank account if they knew the money wasn't theirs.
In her 15 years as banking ombudsman she had been involved in 10 to 20 cases of this nature. They were legally referred to as "payment by mistake".
She was unable to recall how much money was involved in each case.
"There haven't been cases of millions of dollars but certainly ones where there have been several thousand dollars," she said.
Massey University banking lecturer Claire Matthews said the lucky recipients would probably not get away with it.
"They've taken funds that they're not entitled to, that are not theirs," she told Newstalk ZB.
"They've effectively, I guess, become thieves but it is only going to be a matter of time."
The business owners would be hard pressed to argue they honestly believed they were entitled to such a huge sum of money, she said.
Westpac said this morning court action had begun to recover the money but refused to comment further.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...flee-millions/
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Yesterdays news that.
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Tom G
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Registered: 4th Aug 08
Location: Cheshire
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So they got the 10 mill overdraft, then went straight into the bank and withdrew it all??
You can't do that...
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Twiggy
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Registered: 15th Oct 04
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fucking 
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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quote:
Originally posted by Tom_Glover
So they got the 10 mill overdraft, then went straight into the bank and withdrew it all??
You can't do that...
no, they got it then tranferred it between accounts or something.
and anyway, if they did withdraw 10 million, whos to stop them, it's ''their'' money according to the cashier behind the desk so they can't refuse to give them it if they think it's all legit.
[Edited on 22-05-2009 by Ben G]
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Tom G
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Registered: 4th Aug 08
Location: Cheshire
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quote:
Originally posted by Ben G
quote:
Originally posted by Tom_Glover
So they got the 10 mill overdraft, then went straight into the bank and withdrew it all??
You can't do that...
no, they got it then tranferred it between accounts or something.
and anyway, if they did withdraw 10 million, whos to stop them, it's ''their'' money according to the cashier behind the desk so they can't refuse to give them it if they think it's all legit.
[Edited on 22-05-2009 by Ben G]
Ahh didnt read it all
Don't you have to put a request in ten wait so many days so they can ave the money ready for you??
Like in this country
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
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Perhaps they transferred it to a different account?
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
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Ive had £400,000 paid into my account by mistake. Paid in a £4000 cheque and she must of missed putting the decimal point in.
It went out before I ever saw it, but got a shock when I got my bank statement through...Paid In £400 and odd thousand, Paid Out £400 and odd thousand
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Matt L
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Registered: 17th Apr 06
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they arent really going to get very far are they, surely the banks can trace where they have transfered money to and find out where they are using their cards etc.
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Ash_EP3
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Registered: 15th May 07
Location: Melksham, Wiltshire
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quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
Ive had £400,000 paid into my account by mistake. Paid in a £4000 cheque and she must of missed putting the decimal point in.
It went out before I ever saw it, but got a shock when I got my bank statement through...Paid In £400 and odd thousand, Paid Out £400 and odd thousand
Thats pennies to you though lets be honest...
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Jay
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Registered: 26th Sep 04
Location: Liverpool
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I'd of took the chance and ran off with it myself
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Pete_vxl
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Registered: 24th Nov 06
Location: Lochgelly, Fife
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a 10 million transfer wont go through faster payment either so they should be able to track it easily... i'd of thought.
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stubs
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Registered: 30th Jun 02
Location: Bolton
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quote:
Originally posted by Pete_vxl
a 10 million transfer wont go through faster payment either so they should be able to track it easily... i'd of thought.
Faster than Paypal though I bet! 
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Jay
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Registered: 26th Sep 04
Location: Liverpool
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quote:
Originally posted by Tom_Glover
So they got the 10 mill overdraft, then went straight into the bank and withdrew it all??
You can't do that...
It says its $10mil paid into the account, it wasn't an overdraft, they simply withdrew some of it, and got off! Which means they have obiviously got a good wedge out to make it worthwhile of going missing...
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Tommy L
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Registered: 21st Aug 06
Location: Northampton Drives: Audi wagon
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What a fuck up
'Can we have a $10,000 overdraft please' and instead they get $10mil paid into their account. I want to bank with them
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