A Malaysian woman has been freed of all fraud charges by Australian courts, Australian media reported today.
Christine Lee Jia Xin was previously charged with “dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception” and “knowingly dealing with the proceeds in crime” in May 2016.
This is over how she spent A$4.6 million (approximately RM14.27 million) on luxury handbags, shoes and jewellery after her bank, Westpac, accidentally gave her unlimited overdraft in 2014.
Her case was dropped after a similar case was thrown out of court, reported The Daily Telegraph.
In light of the news, the 22-year-old former Sydney University student said through her lawyer that she was very happy to be able to get on with her life back in Malaysia.
“There was no deception. It’s a very interesting case, and an interesting outcome.
“It is obviously clear the bank should adopt better policies,” her lawyer Hugo Aston told the daily.
Bank to pursue civil charges
Westpac will now pursue civil charges against Lee, according to the report.
Westpac was first alerted of Lee’s spending, and their gaffe, in April 2015 when she transferred A$1.15 million (RM3.57 million) to her PayPal account in 14 transactions within one day.
In April 2016, Lee returned A$1 million (RM3.1 million) worth of items including a Cartier bracelet and handbags from Hermes and Christian Dior to the bank.
The New South Wales Supreme Court later ruled that Westpac could seize any of her assets to repay the remaining A$3.5 million (RM10.86 million).
On May 4, 2016, Lee was arrested by police at Sydney Airport while trying to board a flight to Malaysia.
She thought parents sent the money
She appeared in court the next day and claimed that she thought it was her parents who had been sending her large sums of money into her Westpac account, according to Melbourne-based daily The Age.
At the time, the magistrate had cast doubt on whether the money Lee spent were “proceeds of crime”, and thus whether she had broken the law. Lee was granted bail.
The court later found Lee not guilty and all criminal charges brought against her by the police and the deputy public prosecutor were dropped.
Aston told The Age that his client’s case showed that banks should “be aware that they have got it manage their policies better”.
"Come this royal commission, they might be more aware of their mismanagement practices and take proper measures to make sure these things don't happen again,” he said.
Australia is set to hold a royal commission into its banking sector, after major banks argued it was needed to restore public faith in the financial sector.
