A businessman in Brazil was stunned to find £2.6million had appeared in his bank account, however his decisions after finding the money raised questions
A man was surprised to find a massive £2.6million had mysteriously landed in his bank account, only to quickly find himself in a bitter dispute.
Guilherme Moreira, a businessman from Goiânia, Brazil, was left stunned when he discovered R$18,666,000 (£2,613,000) in his account one day in 2019. It soon emerged that his bank, Banco Safra, had suffered a system glitch, resulting in around 400 customers receiving unexpected windfalls.
However, while many customers promptly returned the mistaken funds, thus dodging any legal issues, Mr Moreira decided to take a different route.
The luxury restaurant owner began formal communication with the bank the day after the money appeared, before transferring funds to his father, his company account and a supplier. He also bought a brand-new Porsche.
Initially, the bank attempted to claw back the funds and lodged a police report against Mr Moreira, leading to the seizure of the luxury car, reports the Manchester Evening News.
It was reported that the police officer leading the investigation accused Mr Moreira of exploiting the situation by making the transfers.
However, this was contested by Mr Moreira’s solicitor who argued that his client contacted the bank as soon as he spotted the error, providing text messages between the businessman and the bank where they negotiated the return of the cash.
According to the defence team, the issues arose when the bank refused to negotiate the return of the funds mistakenly transferred, a hardline stance that took Mr Moreira by surprise.
In response, Mr Moreira launched a lawsuit against the bank for material and moral damages.
Click Petroleo e Gas highlighted that in Brazilian law, the common phrase ‘finders keepers’ doesn’t hold up in court, and misappropriating money, even if it’s due to a banking error, is considered a criminal act.
Although the incident initially occurred in 2019, as recently as 2023, the court ordered the bank to return the Porsche to Mr Moreira, according to O Popular.
Moreover, Mr Moreira’s defence stated that almost all of the money has now been returned. Bruno Pena, Mr Moreira’s lawyer, said in a statement: “No crime was committed in the civil sphere.
“The police chief also mentioned money laundering, but I am unaware of this crime having been committed. All this disruption was caused exclusively by a mistake made by the bank.”