Victorian Man Flees with $500,000 after Crypto Account Error

A Mildura man has gone missing after reportedly pocketing nearly half a million dollars after a Bitcoin trading website unintentionally added zero to his account.

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Rhino Trading Pty Ltd, which owns the website OTCPro, applied with the Victorian Supreme Court to freeze the man's assets and prohibit him from leaving the country after he failed to refund the money.

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Court documents reveal that on January 25, 2024, OTCPro received a US$99,500 deposit from 37-year-old Mildura resident Kow Seng Chai via an account established by his company, Lotte Enterprise Pty Ltd.

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When the business credited Mr Chai's trading account in the exchange, it incorrectly inserted a zero, crediting him with US$995,000 rather than US$99,500.

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The business did not discover the issue until February 4.

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