Australians Escape With Millions Of Dollars After Crypto Trading Company Sends Funds To User Accounts

Australians take crypto funds away. (Photo; Doc. Cryptocoinspy)

JAKARTA - A shocking incident occurred in Australia, where the citizen disappeared with millions of dollars received accidentally from a crypto trading platform. The first case involved a man from Mildura, Victoria, who allegedly took advantage of a crypto account error of US$652,316 (Rp10.2 billion).

According to a report from ABC, the man named Kaw Seng Chai disappeared after crypto trading platform Rhino Trading Pty Ltd mistakenly added one additional zero to his account on January 25, 2024. Supposedly, the company only credited Chai's account with 99,500 Australian dollars (Rp 1.5 billion), but as a result of the error, Chai got 995,000 Australian dollars (Rp 15.5 billion).

Rhino Trading Pty Ltd said that Chai did not respond to the request to return the money. When the trading company found a mistake on February 4, Chai had used part of the funds to buy Tether, a cryptocurrency whose value was tied to US dollars, through an account created by his business, Lotte Enterprise Pty Ltd. He withdrew funds in several maximum daily installments of 100,000 US dollars (Rp1.5 billion).

The 37-year-old has disappeared and Victoria's Supreme Court has issued a freezing order' on his assets as well as an injunction that prevented him from leaving Australia. The crypto trading company claims to have suffered a loss of $491,934 due to the error.

Similar Incidents

Meanwhile, a similar incident occurred in May 2021, when a couple in Melbourne, Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh, accidentally received 6.7 million Australian dollars (Rp 104.6 billion) from Crypto.com, a popular crypto trading platform. The couple received the funds after Crypto.com made a refund for a transfer of 100 Australian dollars (Rp 1.5 million) made by Manivel to their partner's Crypto.com account.

However, not a refund of 100 Australian dollars, but mistakenly Crypto.com sent 10.5 million Australian dollars (Rp163.9 billion) to the couple. The incident was not realized until December 2021 when Crypto.com conducted an annual audit.

The couple claims they believe they have won a prize from Crypto.com. Singh argued that he had received a notification about the competition from the company before. However, Crypto.com compliance officer Michi Chan Fores denied the competition, stating that Crypto.com did not send such a notification to its users.

The couple allegedly used the money to buy houses, cars and gifts for their families. In September 2023, Manivel pleaded guilty to carelessly handling the proceeds of the crime. Singh will face a defense hearing on charges of theft in March 2024.

These cases show how prone crypto trading is to human and technical errors. Crypto users must be careful and honest in transactions, as well as check their accounts regularly. Crypto service providers must also improve their security and audit systems, as well as educate their users about the risks and responsibilities associated with crypto trading.