A WOMAN who bought a luxury mansion after she was accidentally paid £6million has told a court she believed her partner had won it.
Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, thought it was her lucky day when a cryptocurrency trader mistakenly tranferred the windfall instead of a £60 refund.
She was expecting the small rebate from digital currency exchange Crypto.com, but received the seven-figure sum after a staff blunder.
The company -which uses actor Matt Damon in its advertising – accidentally entered an account number in the field that was meant to be the cash amount in May 2021.
It took the firm seven months to uncover their error during a routine audit when they realised there was a mistake in the forms.
But by the time Crypto.com started legal proceedings in February, the mum from Melbourne, Australia had already spent most of the money.
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Manivel had purchased a stunning five-bedroom property in Craigieburn as a "gift" for her sister Thilagavathy Gangadory.
The rest of the funds were sent to six other people including her sister and her daughter.
The courts froze the 40-year-old's bank accounts as well as her sibling's in wake of the discovery.
But after her spending spree, Manivel has now bizarrely claimed she was under the impression her partner had won the money, Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard.
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Her barrister Jessica Willard said on Tuesday that co-accused Jatinder Singh had told cops during an interview that he had scooped the cash.
The court heard the mum also told officers the same thing upon her arrest.
Ms Willard said: "The issue in relation to Ms Manivel is the dishonesty element, whether she knew the money was stolen or not."
However, representatives from the Commonwealth Bank claim the pair had been sufficiently informed the transaction was a mistake.
Ms Willard continued: "'They say that there was contact along the way to alert her about the funds.
"CBA is really the crucial witness in regards to Ms Manivel."
EXPENSIVE MISTAKE
The barrister will quiz a CBA rep in October when the court will hear how its investigation into the misappropriated funds was carried out.
Prosecutor Vanessa Kambouropoulos said the bank had kept a diligent record of its correspondence with the couple.
Manivel is also fighting a legal battle against Crypto.com, after they launched proceedings to get the millions back.
When they realised their expensive mistake during a company audit last Christmas, they discovered a huge chunk of the cash had already been splurged.
A whopping £800,000 had been used to buy the plush pad in Craigieburn, that boasts a home gym, five bedrooms and even a cinema.
The remainder had been dispersed among other accounts.
Freezing orders were then made on Manivel's accounts and later on her sister's, who the house's registration was transferred to.
'UNJUSTLY ENRICHED'
The company subsequently took legal action in the Supreme Court seeking to get back the cost of the house plus 10 per cent interest.
The action was successful by default as neither Malaysia-based Gangadory nor her legal representatives attended the court or lodged a defence.
Victorian Supreme Court judge James Elliott ordered that the property be sold and the money be paid back.
He said: "It is established that the Craigieburn property was acquired with funds traceable to the wrongful payment and would never have been in Gangadory’s hands if the wrongful payment had not been made.
"Thus, Gangadory was unjustly enriched by receiving the purchase price of the Craigieburn property out of the wrongful payment.
"Accordingly, I was satisfied that the orders relating to the sale of the Craigieburn property were appropriate."
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Other orders have also been issued against others who received money from the accidental payment.
Manivel made no application for bail and was remanded in jail to return to court with co-accused Mr Singh for a committal on October 11.
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