Australian prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence for a user of Crypto.com who mistakenly received almost $7 million and spent a significant portion before the error was discovered. The incident, which took place in May 2021, involved Crypto.com sending 10.47 million Australian dollars ($6.86 million) to an Australian couple, Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh, instead of a 100 AU$ refund. The error reportedly occurred because an employee entered an account number into the payment section of an Excel spreadsheet. By the time the internal audit detected the mistake in December 2021, Singh had already purchased multiple properties and given a friend 1 million AU$, claiming he believed he had won “an online raffle.”
Prosecutors Push for Jail Time
In a recent court hearing on August 2, nearly three years after the incident, prosecutor Campbell Thomson argued that the substantial amount of money involved made it “out of range” to be considered a crime of opportunity. He contended that a jail sentence for Singh was necessary. “It may not be that you send him to jail for very long at all after taking into account his presentence detention,” Thomson stated.
On the other hand, Singh’s lawyer, Martin Kozlowski, argued that Singh did not fully comprehend the gravity of the unusual situation, which would have been challenging for anyone. “It must be taken into account the funds here came from a multinational that didn’t even know the funds were gone until an audit sometime later,” Kozlowski noted. “Nobody knows how they would respond if faced by the same situation,” he added.
Flight Risk Concerns
Prosecutors have also raised concerns about Singh being a flight risk. In March 2023, they argued that Singh was financially motivated to leave the country, especially since only $4.9 million had been recovered, with part of it already sent abroad. Singh’s sentencing is scheduled for September.
In a related development, Singh’s partner, Manivel, was given a roughly seven-month prison sentence (time already served) and placed on an 18-month community corrections order in September 2023 after pleading guilty to recklessly handling the proceeds of crime.
Increasing Crypto Crime in Australia
This case comes amid a reported rise in crypto-related crimes in Australia. On July 15, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) Money Laundering National Risk Assessment reported an increase in the criminal use of cryptocurrency and related services. AUSTRAC anticipates a spike in the criminal use of crypto due to its greater anonymity and faster transaction speeds.
Conclusion
The case of the Crypto.com error serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and risks involved in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency. As regulatory bodies like AUSTRAC continue to monitor and assess the landscape, it remains to be seen how incidents like these will shape future regulations and security measures. The upcoming sentencing of Jatinder Singh will likely set a precedent for how such cases are handled in the future, especially as the world grapples with the dual-edged sword of digital financial innovation.
