Khaberni - In a bizarre incident, a company in the city of Mansiysk, Russia found itself facing an unexpected legal battle with one of its employees after he refused to return more than 7 million rubles (about $87,000) mistakenly deposited into his bank account.
The story began when the worker, Vladimir Retchagov, received a notification from the bank informing him of a deposit much greater than his usual salary. Besides his vacation pay of about $581, he received a "huge" bonus exceeding $87,000 due to a payroll system malfunction.
However, his joy was short-lived; he soon received calls from the accounting department demanding the return of the funds, which were meant for paying the salaries of 34 employees at another branch of the company. Nevertheless, Retchagov decided to keep the money after "researching on the internet," claiming he was not legally obliged to return it because it was the result of a "technical error" and not a "billing mistake."
While the employee used the money to buy a new car and move with his family to another city, the company filed a lawsuit against him for fraud, and his bank accounts were frozen, before the court acquitted him of colluding with other employees.
However, the Russian judiciary resolved the situation in favor of the company, ordering Retchagov to return the full amount, confirming that the funds were not part of his salary. Nonetheless, the worker did not comply with the decision and decided to appeal to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case, thus continuing the legal battle over the millions mistakenly deposited, according to "Auditie Central".
The acting CEO of the company, Roman Todachkov, stated that "the transfer was clearly a mistake, and the company will continue the legal proceedings until the amount is recovered," emphasizing that the case is "within the legal system".
This incident brings to mind a similar case in Chile, where an employee disappeared after accidentally receiving a salary equivalent to 286 times his monthly wage, leaving behind questions about greed and ethical boundaries in the age of digital mistakes.
