Interpol hunt for couple after bank error

A worldwide hunt is on for a couple who have got away with millions of dollars, leaving a leading New Zealand bank red faced and putting the country's tourist city in the international spotlight.

The couple ran a BP service station at Rotorua, are understood to have applied for a $10,000 overdraft from Westpac and were mistakenly paid up to $10 million.




Now the international police agency Interpol has been called into the hunt for the couple, Leo Gao and his Kiwi girlfriend Kara.

Their neighbours have been sitting on the story for more than a week.

"Saturday, Sunday we realised something else was up," says Tania Davies, a Rotorua resident.

"They'd' done a runner," she says.

Davies says she thought that just cant' happen.




Chevi Lambert, another Rotorua resident, says a private investigator came and asked if they had seen Leo and Kara.

Lambert says the couple are just ordinary people.

You may think this is a small city's rumour mill in overdrive. But late Thursday police confirmed they are investigating a sum of money that has been withdrawn from a Westpac account.

"The individuals involved in that business account has left New Zealand," says Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey of Rotorua police.

Little else is being revealed.

How the great getaway unfolded

ONE News understands Leo Gao applied for a $10,000 loan.

Westpac mistakenly deposited 1000 times that amount into his account on or about May 5.

The next day, Wednesday May 6, the service station, BP Barnett, shut its doors.

On Thursday May 7, the owners of the service station disappeared.

By Friday May 8, the service station place was put into receivership.

"From what we hard it'd been going steadily down hill," says Lambert.

At the couple's Rotorua townhouse on Thursday (May 21), the gardner was the only one making much noise. Neighbours ONE News spoke to say they haven't seen Gao for a couple of weeks.

ONE News also went to the $700,000 house Gao owns in west Auckland and were told he was overseas.

"Westpac Bank has recovered some of the money which has been inappropriately withdrawn from that account," says Harvey.

Westpac would not front for ONE News on Thursday but issued a statement.




"Westpac is pursing vigourous criminal and civil action to recover a sum of money stolen," the statement says.

And it's the topic of the day in Rotorua - keep the money or run?

"Oh I don't think I keep it," says one man.

Interpol has been called in and there's an alert out for the missing Rotorua pair.

"It's such a big world he could just disappear," says Lambert.

And with his partner he could take to heart Westpac's motto: "Making the most of life".

What would you do? Run with the money or give it back? Ever found a sum of money in your account, you knew wasn't your? Share on our message board below!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• bank error
• Interpol hunt

[anothersockpuppet1]

Anybody out there feel sorry for westpac ?? they made 600 million proift here in New Zealand last year

[surfygurl1]

Yeah RUN MY MATE RUN!!!! Good job westpac trust always ripping people off

[circusboy90210]

wheres' the crime there???