It was a wire transfer that changed his life, and perhaps his legal fate. In Russia, a man mistakenly received €74.000 instead of the expected €500 bonus. Rather than return the money, he chose to keep it, believing that “this bonus is deserved.”
The incident occurred last January in Khanty-Mansiysk, at the Severavtodor company. Vladimir, the department head, was expecting a modest bonus when he saw a transfer of 7 million rubles, or 74.000 euros, land in his account.
The accounting department quickly contacted him: the money had actually been intended to pay the salaries of 34 employees at another subsidiary. The error was acknowledged, but Vladimir refused to return the money. He proposed a compromise to his employer: keep the money in exchange for a 20% pay cut. Management categorically refused.
“By checking on the internet, I discovered that if it was a technical error, I could choose whether or not to return the money, but if it was a billing error, I was obligated to refund,” he explained to the media outlet Moscow 24. “I later learned that it was a technical error and I decided to keep the money.”
The company filed a lawsuit and won in the first instance. The man appealed, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. Living in another city with his family, he says he fears for his safety. He faces up to ten years in prison if convicted of appropriating property.
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/insolite-une-prime-de-74-000e-versee-par-erreur-il-refuse-de-rendre-largent/
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