Accidental Millionaires

When two New Zealanders became aware that their bank had mistakenly deposited 10 million dollars into their account during a routine application for overdraft protection,they absconded with a big chunk of it. The couple who are owners and operators of a gas station in the northern New Zealand town of Rotorua asked their Westpac bank for a 10,000 dollar overdraft for their business. Due to a computer glitch or perhaps human error, 1,ooo times that amount was transferred to their account.

In the space of a second they became millionaires. Instead of bringing it to the attention of bank officers right away, as I am sure you or I would do,being the good citizens that we are,the couple withdrew a very considerable (undisclosed) amount and then disappeared.

Local authorities believe the couple has evaded all search efforts and fled the country. Under those circumstances they felt Interpol should be involved in the case. The identity of the couple has not been revealed. The bank released a statement, saying that they were pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action to recover the money. In case you didn't know,the fugitive couple committed a bank robbery. Just because the money was in their account did not make it theirs. In this case, possession is not 9/10ths of the law.

A banking representative and ombudsman stated that it was definitely a criminal offense and that she has been involved in up to twenty similar cases in her fifteen years at her job. I wonder how many of them got away with it....Just asking.