A man working at a factory received a substantial sum of money, equivalent to 34 times his usual monthly salary, which he believes he has the right to retain. Following this unexpected windfall, he made the decision to resign from his job and relocate halfway across the country.
Vladimir Rychagov, residing in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, held a managerial position at Severavtodor when he went on a five-day unpaid leave in January. During this period, he discovered an error that resulted in the salaries of 34 of his coworkers being deposited into his bank account, totaling 7.1 million roubles, approximately £67,000.
Despite attempts by the company to rectify the mistake, Vladimir chose to keep the money, labeling it as a “technical error.” He utilized the unexpected funds to purchase a vehicle and move his family to Khabarovsk, a city closer to Japan than Europe. Subsequently, he engaged in legal proceedings against his former employer.
Initially accused of collaboration with a company accountant in diverting the funds, authorities found no evidence to support the claim, leading to the dismissal of the charge. While there are discussions about the possibility of requiring him to return the money due to it being a company error, Vladimir intends to escalate the matter to Russia’s Supreme Court.
Citing his research online, Vladimir maintains that as the erroneous transfer was a technical glitch, he is not obligated to repay the funds. Oddity Central reported that the intended destination for the money was a different branch from where Vladimir was employed, attributing the error to a software malfunction.
The company’s acting CEO, Roman Tudachkov, admitted to the payment error, affirming their intent to address the issue through legal procedures. In a similar incident in Chile in 2022, a worker was purportedly paid 286 times his regular salary, prompting him to vanish after initially pledging to refund the money.