ON THE HAM: Meat Packer Disappears After Company Error Pays Him GBP 250K

Story By:  Ana MarjanovicSub-EditorMichael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

A worker has disappeared after his bosses accidentally transferred nearly GBP 250,000 into his bank account.

The man – whose name has not been released – was working for processed meat packers
CIAL Alimentos in Chile when the huge sum appeared in his pay packet.

When he checked his pay for May he reportedly saw it contained an extra CLP 281 million (GBP 248,795).

Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (Cial), in Pudahuel, Chile, that made the error, in May, 2022. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

According to reports, the fortune was paid into the man’s account due to an error by the company’s human resources department.

At first, the meat packer tried to hide the unofficial bonus.

Then when the company realised the size of the error they demanded the money back.

Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (Cial), in Pudahuel, Chile, that made the error, in May, 2022. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

But he refused to transfer the money back and secretly withdrew all the cash from his account.

Local media reports that company bosses called him hundreds of times until he eventually answered and claimed he had fallen asleep.

They continued waiting for the worker, but the day passed without any further communication from him.

The man then resigned his position and disappeared.

Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (Cial), in Pudahuel, Chile, that made the error, in May, 2022. (Google Maps/Newsflash)

A few days later, a lawyer appeared at the company’s office and told them that his client was not convinced he had to return the money.

In response, the company filed a lawsuit against the worker for misappropriation of funds.

The company admits that while they made a mistake, the employee did not have any right to keep the money and insist that the full sum be returned to its “legitimate owner”.