The curious case of millions! Five times faulty wire transfer cases made headlines

Sixteen years ago, two Mumbai-based businessmen were the unexpected recipients of a windfall. Funds of a half-a-million dollars were transferred into their Swiss bank accounts. Here are other cases of folks who got cash to burn because of faulty wiring:

1. Banking on the wrong name

In 2015, Deutsche Bank AG erroneously transferred $6 billion to a hedge fund client in the US. The deal was processed by a junior member of the bank's forex sales team based in London when he used a gross figure rather than a net figure. It was allegedly done while the junior member's boss was on leave. The bank recovered the money from the hedge fund client the next day.

2. A glitch away from being a multimillionaire

In May 2016, Melbournebased Mat thew Pearce checked his banking app and found $123 million of unexplained funds in his account. When he contacted Commonwealth Bank and explained his predicament, it was greeted with mirth by the staff member. Pearce said in an interview, "I thought about going to Mexico but I thought I better not — I got told it is fraud if you touch it so I put it in the bank's hands." Two weeks later, the bank contacted him to fix the error.


(Image: Agencies)

3. Millions into handbags

In 2012, Christine Jiaxin Lee, a Malaysian student living in Australia, mistakenly received an unlimited overdraft after a glitch in Westpac's system. Over three years, Lee spent almost $4.6 million on luxury handbags and other items. She was arrested in May 2016 when she was trying to leave for Malaysia. In December, she appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to financial advantage by deception.

4. Ask the world

In December 2015, an Australian received $400,000 in his bank account unexpectedly. He took to Reddit to ask what was his best course of action. The Reddit user, known as woahdudehelp, got a lot of legitimate advice on what to do with his unexpected wealth, a long with many life hacks. He soon updated his advisers and the world that the bank contacted him and reversed the erroneous transaction. "It took under 5 minutes. Very anticlimatic, but better than a lawsuit! Thank goodness that the stress is over," he posted. However, the bank allowed him to keep the $25 accrued interest.

5. Funding the disappearing act

Florida-based Joseph Galbraith, a hedge fund manager at the Galbraith Capital Investment Management was wired $1.5 million by Credit Suisse in January 2014. Two weeks later, the bank contacted Galbraith and expl ai ned the mistake. The bank is still waiting to recover the money. There is no news of Galbraith since. It is speculated that he is currently living in Europe after renouncing his US citizenship in 2011. Credit Suisse has sued both Galbraith and the hedge fund.