The Japanese man who is accused of that wasted 338,000 euros in online casinos which were wrongly paid to him as a bonus, the police announced today.
The arrest came after the 24-year-old man stated through his lawyer that he had wasted all this money on online gambling, but added that he decided to return it “slowly”.
On April 8 the man saw the amount of 46.3 million yen (338,000 euros) credited to his account after mistake local officials responsible for the assistance program to 463 low-income households affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Authorities in the western city of Abu Dhabi, where the man lives, have repeatedly tried to persuade him to return the money through calls, letters and visits.
According to the city council, municipal officials accompanied by the young man’s mother even visited him at work to persuade him to return the money, but in vain.
After all on May 11 announced that they would take legal action against him.
“We arrested the man for violating cyber fraud laws,” said a Yamaguchi police officer in Abu Dhabi.
The 24-year-old is believed to have transferred to another account part of the allowance he had received, while he knew that his money had been credited by mistake.
“I believe the arrest is a step towards the truth,” said Abu Dhabi, the mayor of Abu Dhabi.
“I do not honestly believe (that he wasted it all) and it is possible (the money is) somewhere,” he added, commenting that the municipality staff is exhausted by the constant phone calls and emails of angry citizens.
Hanada “humbly apologized” to his citizens for the mistake, stressing that his office “will do everything it can to get back this large sum of money.” The money has already been paid to the households that were entitled to it.
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