Court Grants Retention of Mistakenly Received 330 Times Salary

A man has secured the right to retain a significant sum mistakenly deposited into his bank account, amounting to 330 times his normal salary, following a protracted legal dispute.

This unusual incident transpired in Santiago, Chile, involving an employee of Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (CIAL), a conglomerate engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of processed food products throughout Latin America. The employee, serving as a distribution assistant, was inadvertently paid 330 times his salary.

In May 2022, the worker, who typically expected a salary of 500,000 pesos (approximately €522), was shocked to find a staggering 165,398,851 Chilean pesos—around $180,000 or €172,000—had been credited to his account.

Initially, the fortunate individual informed the company about the anomaly and pledged to visit the bank promptly to arrange the return of the excess funds. However, he reconsidered and subsequently vanished, as reported by Diario Financiero.

After being unreachable for three days and absent from work, the employee submitted a formal resignation via his lawyer, thereby safeguarding the funds while terminating his employment.

CIAL reacted swiftly, lodging a criminal complaint of theft against the employee, contending that he had no rightful claim to the mistakenly paid amount. Nevertheless, during a three-year legal struggle, the man's attorneys defended him, asserting that there was no wrongdoing on his part: the deposit was purely accidental, and he had not engaged in any manipulation of the payroll system.

“There was no deceit or fraud involved, and there was no premeditated action,” they argued, underscoring that the deposit was solely the company's responsibility and that the worker merely received the funds into his account.

In a decision rendered in September 2025, the Santiago court ruled in favor of the employee. The judges determined that the incident was not theft but was classified as "unauthorized appropriation," which is not considered a criminal act under Chilean legislation.

The court elaborated that the deposit was a corporate error with no complicity from the employee, confirming that there was no evidence of intent to deprive the company of its funds and that he did not manipulate the payroll system. Given that the case fell under unauthorized appropriation rather than theft, the court dismissed the charges.

Had the court rendered a guilty verdict for theft, the employee could have faced a maximum of 540 days in prison, received a criminal record, and been required to return the funds. Instead, the ruling permits him to enjoy this unexpected financial uplift.

However, the situation might not have reached a final resolution. CIAL has indicated its intention to pursue civil litigation to reclaim the funds. “CIAL will take all necessary legal steps as per the regulations, including filing for annulment of the verdict,” a spokesperson noted to Diario Financiero.

Experts caution that employees encountering similar overpayment situations should promptly and transparently report the issue to their payroll or human resources departments in writing. Spanish consultancy Legatik advises that if more than a year elapses without the company seeking repayment, the employee is no longer legally obligated to return the surplus funds according to Spanish law.

For the time being, the former employee of CIAL is free to enjoy the substantial payment that changed his life.