Couple missing after $10m bank bungle

Rotorua Review

SHUTTING UP SHOP: Petrol tanks being removed from BP Barnetts a few weeks ago. The station's owners are being sought after $10m was mistakenly lodged in their bank account. The station has since closed and the couple are thought to have fled New Zealand.

Multi-million dollar mistake

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An Asian couple understood to have fled New Zealand after a banking error involving millions of dollars, may be in China.

A Rotorua Review source today confirmed that a police liaison officer was sent to China to search for the couple after $10 million was deposited into their bank account. It is understood that the sum of money involved is $6m, with $4m having already been recovered.

When asked by the Review whether he could confirm the China link, Detective Sergeant David Harvey said: "I'm not prepared to offer any comment at this stage."

The couple, who ran Rotorua service station BP Barnetts, are understood to have applied to Westpac Bank for a $10,000 overdraft and mistakenly had $10 million paid into their account.

Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling would not comment on the specifics of the case due the police investigation and court actions requiring confidentiality.

"I can say that Westpac is pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action to recover a sum of money stolen," he said, adding that the incident had prompted a review of how it had occurred.

Mr Dowling said that both civil and criminal actions were being pursued.

Police had asked international police liaison organisation Interpol to help find the couple.

BP Barnetts closed its doors earlier this month after its operator, Heights Service Limited, went into receivership.

The service station, at the intersection of Otonga, Old Taupo and Devon roads, was owned by Huan Di Zhang and Hui Gao. The pair was listed at a West Harbour, Auckland address.

Rotorua’s The Daily Post newspaper reported that the company owed money to creditors.

The creditors report, being prepared by Corporate Finance Limited, is not due until 19 July. Corporate Finance Limited would not comment on the matter.

Officer-in-charge Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of Rotorua CIB was prepared only to say that an investigation had been launched into a substantial sum of money that had been "mistakenly advanced" from Westpac.

Police had received a complaint from Westpac relating to people living in Rotorua.

He refused to say how much money was involved.

Police were investigating because the Westpac bank considered what had happened was theft or fraud, through the use of a document to obtain a pecuniary advantage, Mr Harvey told Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper.

He confirmed some of the money mistakenly advanced had been withdrawn from the bank account but was not prepared to say how much money was involved.

He expected the investigation to "take some time".

Banking Ombudsman Liz Brown told The Daily Post that generally speaking it was a criminal offence for someone to spend money accidentally put into their bank account if they knew the money wasn't theirs.

In her 15 years as banking ombudsman she had been involved in 10 to 20 cases of this nature. They were legally referred to as "payment by mistake".

She was unable to recall how much money was involved in each case.

"There haven't been cases of millions of dollars but certainly ones where there have been several thousand dollars," she said.

Massey University banking lecturer Claire Matthews said the lucky recipients would probably not get away with it.

"They've taken funds that they're not entitled to, that are not theirs," she told Newstalk ZB.

"They've effectively, I guess, become thieves but it is only going to be a matter of time."

The business owners would be hard pressed to argue they honestly believed they were entitled to such a huge sum of money, she said.

Westpac said this morning court action had begun to recover the money but refused to comment further.

Raman Ramschod owns St Andrew's Superette in the same block of shops as Barnetts. He said he had regular dealings with them and had never had any problems.

"I had no problems with them – they seemed okay to me," he said. "He seemed a pleasant person and she was quite nice."

There was "definitely not" any indication that they or the store were in any difficulties, he said.

- NZPA, Rotorua Review and Stuff.co.nz

Have you ever had a large amount of money mistakenly put in your account? Email editorial@stuff.co.nz

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Oldest First

Krista   #232   01:24 pm May 28 2009

Run, Run, Run!!!!!

Derek   #231   04:25 pm May 25 2009

To those who claim "it was just a line of credit"... ok, fine, even if it was such... that makes it even better.

I applied for a credit card with a $5K limit, but my bank gave me $10K. If I accumulated 8K in debt would they pitch a fit? Nope. They set my credit limit according to some internal rules, and that's fine.

If the bank extended more credit to the couple than they should have, shame on the bank. The couple should just declare bankruptcy, have the $2M in debt (the outstanding balance due back to the bank) declared null and void, and live on a beach, earning twenty percent....

ajc   #230   12:53 pm May 25 2009

I RECKON IT WAS MENT TO BE 4 THEM!! RUN RUN RUN AS FAST AS U CAN,YEAH UR $$ NOW

booga   #229   04:11 pm May 23 2009

no turning back now, i say hide in some remote area with there 100+ relatives.

and spend it before they get caught lol

John Smith   #228   12:27 pm May 23 2009

Good on them, they will not be caught easily if they wait for the heat to cool off. I think westpac should have had something in place for such a huge mistake.

Fil   #227   02:33 am May 23 2009

There Chinese and in mainland china by now. Do you think they will find them in CHINA!!!! There in some remote village by now in a nice house just relaxing. If this happened to me I would run too, maybe to China, lmao.

graham   #226   07:47 pm May 22 2009

It couldnt happen to a nicer bank!!! Ahh well, westpac could always sell the house they have repossessed from us to claw back a few measly dollars!

Conniie   #225   05:00 pm May 22 2009

I think its great. its not like this happens all the time it was an accident nd i dont blame them for taking advantage of it... I dnt know neone who wouldnt!! unless u were a total tool or already rich lol its not like it was premeditated nd i highly doubt they would ever consider "trying" to steal money like that, but its a completely different story when it turns up in ur account haha nd he had financial probs 2 man he was probably praying!! for a miricle to happen nd then it did...LOL so i wish thm luck nd i hope they get to keep it ;P

Sandra   #224   04:40 pm May 22 2009

Good on you the banks got money of my mothers and wont give back will cost me 1k to get back so go kids go and enjoy.

jeremy   #223   02:12 pm May 22 2009

@ Nikki #185: Yes, the money does just magically come into existence. That is the magic of fractional reserve banking. That's why a bank charter is, quite literally, a license to print money. Westpac didn't lose $10million.

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