SYDNEY // Australian police have charged a woman with fraud after she allegedly spent US$3.4 million (Dh12.38m) that her bank mistakenly gave her, with much of the money reportedly lavished on handbags.
The woman, named in Sydney media as 21-year-old Malaysian chemical engineering student Christine Jiaxin Lee, reportedly splashed out on luxury apartment rentals, designer bags and other high-end items after her Australian bank gave her an unlimited overdraft on her savings account.
"That's a lot of handbags," magistrate Lisa Stapleton said on Thursday, according to Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
Police arrested the woman as she attempted to board a flight to Malaysia on Wednesday night.
They said she had been charged with dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
“Police will allege the woman obtained an illegal financial advantage when she overdrew her account by A$4.6m,” they said in a statement.
Reports said that Ms Lee, who has been released on bail, allegedly spent the money between July 2014 and April 2015, and that some A$3.3m had not been recovered.
Ms Stapleton questioned whether the cash could be considered a “proceed of crime”, saying “it’s money we all dream about”.
The case has been adjourned until June 21.
* Agence France-Presse
