$10 Million Bank Error In New Zealand Leads To International Manhunt
Leo Gao, the co-owner of a BP station in Rotorua, New Zealand, applied for a $10,000 NZD ($6,142 USD) overdraft line from Westpac bank. An error by a bank staff member somehow put $10,000,000 NZD ($6,139,614 USD) in his account. He and his business partner haven't been heard from since.
The money was in the account on or about May 5. The following day, the BP station closed its doors. But it was only on Thursday this week that police said they were investigating.
..
Police would not say yesterday when Westpac alerted them to the missing money.
Inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of Rotorua CIB said police had called on Interpol to help find "individuals associated with the account" who were believed to have fled the country with a large sum of money "mistakenly advanced" by Westpac.
It is understood as much as $6 million is missing. The bank has recovered $4 million.
The station owners were in a bad financial position, and apparently saw the mistaken deposit as a windfall. They did exactly what one should not do in this situation—they allegedly wired the money out of the country and fled. Where to? Their native China? Nobody knows.
$6m runaways have head start [New Zealand Herald] (Thanks, Morticia!)
(Photo: srqpix)
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Comments:
Run for the hills... Run for your life...
I know what they did was stealing, but at the same time I kind of want to give them a high five.
thats awesome.
That's what you get using Hobbits for bank tellers.
Everyone knows, use the Dwarfs. Use the Dwarfs!
@flamincheney: Yeah, I'm kinda thinking if I had that kind of mistake in my favor you wouldn't see me around anymore either...
"They did exactly what one should not do in this situation-they allegedly wired the money out of the country and fled."
Well, technically, fleeing the country while forgetting to wire the money out would be the worst thing to do.
Even the Community Chest cards have been supersized in these recessionary times? I wish I'd land on that space more often. It was so hard to get excited about a measly $200.
@Trai_Dep: I'm not sure that'd be the worst thing. I'd feel like an idiot, but I wouldn't have to tell anyone when I came back. I'd just say I went on vacation.
The worst thing might be be buying lots of stuff, and then asking the bank why you have extra money.
please find their email address for me so I can clue them in on an opportunity my Nigerian cousin has because of his job in the treasury.
The last time I got a bank error in my favor it was only for $10. And even that was Monopoly money...
I can't believe these idiots didn't notice there was a problem when the money was being wired out.
Now if only you could treat the extra money as a gift. You know, if you actually receive goods that have been mailed to you that your didn't order which was unsolicited are at times considered gifts. It should be handled the same way. ^_^ Oh how we could all dream.
Ugh.. I want to hate them for the costs they would pass on to me (if I lived in New Zealand) and for breaking the law (in a big way) but if it were me, I can't say I wouldn't be tempted.
They might have looked a bit more innocent if they had an accomplice in Nigeria, and stayed in New Zealand and demanded to know what happened to the 10,000 NZD, looked even more surprised when the bank tells them about the error, and then turn the tables and blame the bank for "making their account look too attractive" :-)
Well, wouldn't you?
@gStein: actually, i wish to replace my original statement with "this is what they get for hiring former Verizon associates"
John Dillinger's of the 21'st century?
@CRCError1970: "Their native China?" Talk about having a great place to hide! It's not like the Chinese government is going to be allowing international detectives run around looking for them...
@Skaperen: Oh man, anser an email, have the $$ wired to Nigeria then on to Luxemburg or the Caymens. BAM perfect cover.
@Wombatish: Yes, but how to do your LOTR/New Zealand/Fantasy joke?
I say the Harry Potter works since it's British Petroleum...
so *that's* why cousin Wei-ping showed up at my door with all that money for me to hold for him...
This is the kind of NZ story my desperately chauvinistic Kiwi mother-in-law won't be sending us. In fact, it may be the only NZ story she won't be sending us.
My father-in-law lives in Rotorua. It's not that big a town; the station owners were smart to hightail it out of there.
@Shoelace: Seriously. If you walk into the bank and ask to wire $10mil, doesn't the teller at least look up from their crossword to question it? I needed management approval to wire 0.1% of that.
Branch Manager:
How do you explain this?
David Hasselhoff(not THAT one, he just happens to have the same name as that no-talent assclown became famous and started winning singing in Germany, and he's not going to change it b/c it's the other David that sucks.):
Ok! Ok! I must have, I must have put a decimal point in the wrong place or something. Shit. I always do that. I always mess up some mundane detail.
@Trai_Dep: I'm surprised they didn't figure this out for themselves. Everybody knows that halflings make great THIEVES, not employees.
Duh.
Their business was about to go under, so if they didn't take the money, they were screwed financially. If they do take the money, either they get caught or they don't. They're set either way.
It reminds me of a quote from Raising Arizon. John Goodman reveals his plan to commit a spree of bank robberies across the Southwest:
"And we keep going until we have enough money to retire. Or until we get caught. Either way, we're set for life."
I take it life is not like Monopoly.
@Trai_Dep: I think leaving the country and attempting to wire the money to your then-current location would be the worst thing.
@bishophicks: I suspect they had planned to skip the country regardless. For them to have done it so quickly means they probably planned to take the $10k and skip out, so when they got $10mil, they didn't have to think hard about transferring it.
If it was wired, can't they trace it? If I were in that position, I would maybe mail the money in a box to some hotel out of the country, and be there to pick it up.
i'd like to think i'd do the right thing, but for $7 million? screw it. i'd find me a country without an extradition treaty & spend the rest of my life sipping mai-tais on the beach.
How exactly is this illegal if they were granted an overdraft line and then used it. Would this now mean that it is a civil matter, although I know that I am not familiar with NZ laws. If someone were to have an overdraft line in the US and took all the money and did not pay it back, I don't know what criminal charges could be pressed since it is a line of credit and they used it, it's not like they went into the bank and stole it.
@mavrick67: I never wired money out of the country, but based on movies and such that I've seen, that makes sense.
But isn't there a bank account, and name, on the other end of that wire? And isn't that where Interpol comes into play?
Yeah.
Six million will buy a lot of fizzy drinks in fruit.
I'm suprised nobody noticed the sonic booms as these people left the country.
Yes, they have to become more familiar with extradition law, but it's hard to say "well I wouldn't do that."
Now that bank is going to raise my rates and reduce my credit line all thanks to
Leo Gao, errr, I meant the economy.
@AlteredBeast: There is definitely a receiving bank and account on the other end. International law regulates the rest. While it's true the money is gone, depending on the country you may not be able to legally obtain much more information regarding who owns the account or when they withdrew the funds.
Run run run!
If you were a foreign national and could go back home to China or India, say, you'd absolutely do it- no way they get caught in China.
@PedroTyphon: they were granted a line for $10k & used $10M. yes, it was a bank error, but that doesn't make it ok. it's theft. simple as that. this is most definitely a criminal matter - grand theft in the united states, as well as wire fraud & a few other charges. typically, if the bank can recover its money right away, it will drop any criminal charges. if the money is not recoverable, they will pursue charges.
here's a similar case in australia: [www.telegraph.co.uk]
note the quote at the end - "In the eyes of the law it was the conduct of a thief."
the bank obviously needs a bailout.