Mildura Crypto User Goes MIA After Exchange Mistakenly Transfers Over $600,000 to Account
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An Australian man recently disappeared into thin air after a crypto exchange, OTCPro, mistakenly transferred over ten times his funds. The crypto exchange in question, owned by Rhino Trading, transferred $653,000 (995,000 Australian dollars) instead of $65,300 (99,500 Australian dollars) to his account.
No-show In Court
According to a local news outlet, Kow Seng Chai, a 37-year-old resident of Mildura, has failed to appear in court despite being summoned. This development has raised concerns about his whereabouts and the disposition of the over $600,000 he allegedly pocketed.
Court documents revealed that Rhino Trading, the operator of the OTCPro website, received a $65,300 (99,500 AUD) deposit from Chai. This deposit was made through an account set up by his business, Lotte Enterprise Pty Ltd, on January 25th.
When the account resolution was to be made, OTCPro credited his account balance with $653,000 instead of $65,300. The exchange only became aware of the error on February 4.
During the timeframe the crypto exchange was unaware of the mistake, Chai allegedly purchased USDT stablecoins and transferred the funds out in batches of $100,000 – in line with the exchange’s maximum daily withdrawal limit. So far, he moved over $626,700 ($956,000 AUD) within a 10-day window.
Nevertheless, the exchange has tried contacting the user and sent numerous emails but has not received a response. Also, phone calls to his listed number have proven unsuccessful. The crypto exchange claimed it lost $322,700 (or $491,934.76 AUD) from the entire ordeal.
In response, the Victorian Supreme Court of Australia has frozen all the user’s assets and banking details. Also, on February 21, a further court injunction was issued by Justice Michael Osborne, stopping Chai from leaving the country.
Explaining this move, Osborne stated there was a growing risk that Chai would dispose of the withdrawn assets in the coming days.
The user, who hails from Malaysia and moved to Australia, also supplied inaccurate banking details for his Lotte business activities, the OTCPro exchange later discovered. The court acknowledged that the banking details provided by the user were not genuine, as discovered by the plaintiff.
Lotte And Chai’s Trading Pattern Unraveled
Providing more context on the events that unfolded, OTCPro’s director Qi Tang informed the Victorian Supreme Court the user often deposited funds in AUD almost daily. The total deposit amount, Tang revealed, was $1.9 million AUD since the account was created in December 2023.
Once confirmed, the AUD deposit was used to purchase the USDT stablecoin and then withdrawn to a private crypto wallet. A recent search by the crypto exchange on the non-custodial crypto wallet revealed that only $149.33 AUD in crypto assets are available.
OTCPro’s ordeal is not the first mistake made between a centralized crypto exchange and its user. Popular global crypto trading brand Crypto.com faced a similar ordeal two and half years ago.
In their situation, a whopping $6.86 million ($10.47 million AUD) was mistakenly forwarded to a Melbourne-based sibling – Manivel and Gangadory Thevamanogari.
The mistake occurred after a staff member erroneously typed the customer’s account details into the payment section of an Excel sheet. The lump sum was sent to the customers instead of just a $100 refund.
When questioned, the customers said they assumed it was prize money and had spent a large sum on luxury items and goods.
