The case took place in a factory in Russia, with the worker arguing that he assumed the money was an end-of-year bonus. The dispute has already reached the Supreme Court.
What began as a moment of unexpected luck has turned into a case that will now be brought to Russia’s Supreme Court.
A factory worker is at the center of a legal battle after refusing to return more than 7 million rubles (about 75 thousand euros) that were mistakenly transferred to your account banking.
The worker, Vladimir Rychagovfrom the Khanty-Mansiysk oil region, initially believed his luck had changed.
Your factory will have hinted at a possible “13th salary” bonus after a profitable year and when he saw the huge deposit — much larger than his usual monthly salary of 46 thousand rubles — he assumed it was the bonus he had been promised.
However, the joy was short-lived. The factory’s accounting department immediately contacted him, explaining that the payment had been a technical error. The system had accidentally transferred the combined salary of 34 employees to your account. The company demanded an immediate refund.
Rychagov refused, insisting that the transfer appeared legitimate. “After researching on the internet, I discovered that if it had been a technical error, I wouldn’t have to return the money,” he told Russia’s Channel 5. He later confirmed that he had spent part of the money on a car and moving to another city.
According to court documents cited by Oddity Central, the erroneous payment was intended for another branch of the company. Despite this, Rychagov argued that because the deposit came from the same employer and was labeled “salary,” it legally belonged to him, explains .
The factory responded by freezing its bank accounts and taking the case to court. Prosecutors even accused Rychagov of collusion with an accountantalthough these charges were later dropped.
Both the first instance court and the appeal court ruled against the worker, ordering the full refund of the amount. Unwilling to give in, Rychagov appealed to the country’s Supreme Court.
Company executives stated that the incident was purely administrative. “There was no 13th salary involved“, said interim CEO Roman Tudachkov. “It was an erroneous transfer. We have a court order and we will resolve this through the legal system.”
Although the Supreme Court has not yet issued a verdict, Rychagov keep tapping your foot. “December’s salary was credited and there were rumors about a big bonus. This suggested that the year had ended well”, he argues.
