A worker at a factory received a significant sum of money, amounting to 34 times his usual monthly salary. Following this unexpected windfall, he made the decision to resign from his position and relocate to a different part of the country.
Vladimir Rychagov, who worked as a department head at Severavtodor in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, was on a five-day unpaid leave in January when he discovered an error that resulted in the salaries of 34 of his colleagues being deposited into his bank account. This mistake led to him receiving a total of 7.1 million roubles, approximately £67,000 in value.
Despite attempts by the company to rectify the error, Vladimir chose to retain the money, citing it as a rightful entitlement. He used the funds to purchase a vehicle and relocate his family to Khabarovsk, a city closer to Japan than Europe. Legal actions were taken against him initially on suspicion of collusion, but no evidence was found to support the allegations, leading to the dismissal of the charges.
While there is speculation that he may be required to return the money, as it is deemed a company issue, Vladimir intends to challenge this decision in Russia’s Supreme Court. He referenced online research that supported his belief that he was not obligated to repay the funds due to the technical error.
The incident was attributed to a software glitch that caused the money intended for a different branch to be deposited into Vladimir’s account. The company’s acting CEO acknowledged the mistake and stated that they would address the matter through the legal system.
Similar incidents have occurred in other parts of the world, such as in Chile in 2022, where a worker received an excessively high payment, leading to his resignation and subsequent disappearance after initially indicating his intention to return the money.