Man must pay back 170,000 euros wrongly placed into his account

A German court ruled on Monday that a man who wrongly received 170,000 euros (201,325 dollars) in his bank account must pay the money back.

The Hanover regional court said the 30-year-old must reimburse the money to the bank, saying it did not help in his favour that he had "squandered" most of it on "luxury expenses."

Having received the money in mid-July last year, the man went on a spending spree, ridding himself of 92,000 euros in just three days.

Of that, he spent 3,600 euros on hotels and rental cars, 15,000 euros he gambled away in the casino and 18,500 euros he spent in brothels, which are legal in Germany.

Another 50,000 euros were stolen from him in that time.

Repay the money

The court pointed out that the man should have expected to have to repay the money from the beginning.

At the time of the incident the man's partner was employed by the bank in question and worked in the disbursement department.

According to the bank, the woman initiated the transfer of the money, which was actually intended as construction financing for a bank customer.

Neither the bank nor the court commented on her motive.