Man does a runner after bank’s €177,000 error

The man, from Banyuls-sur-Mer in Pyrénées-Orientales, was sentenced in his absence as he has not been seen since 2017 – when he had promised to repay the cash to a company that made a simple mistake in an IBAN number.

Article 1376 of the Code Civil says anyone “who receives by mistake or knowingly what is not their due is obliged to return it”. However, Article 2224 also says the paying bank has five years to spot the error... or the recipient can keep the money.