A Chilean man who was accidentally paid 330 times his monthly salary has just won a legal battle that will allow him to keep the money—at least for the time being.
The man worked as an office assistant at a food company in Chile, earning around $518 (BD195) per month. But in May 2022, an accounting error led to him receiving $170,655 (BD64,335) in his account instead of his usual salary.
After the mistake came to light, the man initially agreed to return the money to the company. But within three days, he submitted his resignation and severed all contact with the company.
The company then filed a legal complaint, accusing the man of theft.
The legal battle, which lasted for three years, recently concluded with a judge ruling that the incident did not meet the legal thresholds for theft but instead was classified as an "unauthorised collection". This means that the man cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Although the man was cleared of all criminal charges, the company has said that it is looking into filing a civil lawsuit to recover the money.
A statement released by the company said, “We will take all possible legal steps, particularly an application for annulment, to have the ruling reviewed.”
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