A 21-year-old woman who was arrested at Sydney Airport trying to leave Australia allegedly spent millions on handbags and luxury goods after $4.6 million was mistakenly transferred into her bank account.

Christine Jiaxin Lee, a Malaysian national, wrongly received the money after it was transferred into her Westpac bank account as an overdraft four years ago.

The chemical engineering student, who was attempting to leave to Malaysia when she was picked up by Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport on Wednesday night, still allegedly owes $3.3 million to her bank. 

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Christine Jiaxin Lee was mistakenly transferred $4.6m into her Westpac bank account a number of years ago

 

 

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The Malaysian national was attempting to leave the country when she was arrested by police on Wednesday

She allegedly purchased 'luxury items' while taking advantage of the mistakenly extended overdraft.

According to Nines News, the young woman allegedly spent $3.3 million in less than a year where she made purchases on designer handbags and making cash transfers. 

Ms Lee had been living in a sub-penthouse apartment with Sydney Harbour Bridge views before her arrest.

The apartment in Rhodes, in Sydney's inner west, was rented at $780 a week or $3120 per month, according to property records.

Lee appeared at Waverley Local Court on Thursday after being charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The young student was granted bail in court on condition that she report twice daily to police in the Sydney suburb of Ryde, surrenders her emergency passport and lives with her boyfriend Vincent King at his home, also in the suburb of Rhodes.

But she will spend a night in jail because her boyfriend - who tried to pay a $1000 bond for her release - was only carrying a Malaysian ID card and officers could not verify his identity, meaning they had to refuse her bail, The Daily Telegraph reported.

There was also a misspelling on her bail address, which must be updated in front of a magistrate before she can be released.

Lee will return to court on Friday morning where she's expected to walk free after the hearing. 

 

The Rider Boulevard apartment boasts sweeping oceanfront views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and city

Earlier on Thursday, a Magistrate said of the money Lee had accessed from her bank account: 'She didn't take it from them - they gave it to her.'

The court heard that although the police fraud unit had started their investigation into the withdrawal of the money in 2012, they only issued the arrest warrant on March 4 this year.

The student told her lawyer that she had obtained the emergency passport to fly home to Malaysia to visit her parents, who did not know about her arrest.

Lee's lawyer, Fiona McCarron told the court that the money was partly spent on luxury items like expensive handbags, to which the Magistrate commented: 'That's a lot of handbags.'

And Ms Stapleton agreed with the lawyer when she said the police would struggle to prove the spending of the money was illegal.

'They gave it to her,' said the Magistrate, who added that if it was proved that the money was indeed given to Lee, then the student would owe the money to the bank and have to pay it back.

'But she wouldn't necessarily have broken the law,' said the Magistrate.

Ms McCarron claimed there was 'nothing nefarious' about the student obtaining an emergency passport - she had simply lost her original passport.

Marc Turner, Prosecuting, said the police and the bank had tried to speak to Lee about the money, but she had failed to return phone calls or answer emails.

He said that within weeks of a warrant being issued for Lee's arrest, she had applied for a passport. 

Earlier on Thursday, her boyfriend of 18 months arrived at court where he described Lee as a 'good girl'.

He told News Corp he had 'no idea' she had ever been given access to the money and reportedly claimed to have never seen her make extravagant purchases.

It wasn't until Thursday morning when Lee called him asking for help that he knew anything about it, according to the publication.

Court documents revealed she is alleged to have committed the offences on multiple occasions between July 2014 and March 2015.  

It is alleged she failed to notify the bank that she was not entitled to the money. 

Police fraud experts launched their investigation in 2012, but a warrant for her arrest was only issued in March this year.

 

 

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The court heard she knew police were attempting to make contact with her and she obtained an emergency Malaysian passport in order to leave the country

The court heard she knew police were attempting to make contact with her and she obtained an emergency Malaysian passport in order to leave the country. 

But Lee's lawyer reportedly said that she had wanted to return home to visit her parents who were unaware of her arrest in Australia. 

She was granted bail for $1,000 and faces strict bail conditions, with Magistrate Lisa Stapleton agreeing with the prosecution that her attempts to flee Australia meant that she posed a flight risk.

Ms Stapleton appeared to suggest the student may not have broken the law and told the court: 'It's not proceeds of crime. It's money we all dream about.

'She didn't take it from (the bank). They gave it to her.'

The magistrate said that if this is what happened, the student would owe the money she had spent but would not have broken the law.

 

 

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The chemical engineering student, who was attempting to flee to Malaysia when she was picked up by Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport on Wednesday night, still allegedly owes $3.3 million to her bank

Lee, who claimed to have obtained the emergency passport because she had lost her original one, will not be allowed to enter any international airport or port and has to report to police twice daily.

She is also not allowed to apply for another passport.

Lee, who has lived in Australia for five years, lives with her boyfriend at Rhodes in Sydney's north-west.

The court was told she had been in Australia for a year by the time the overdraft was wrongly put in place.

She is three years through a four-year chemical engineering degree but has deferred her final year.

The woman is due to appear at Downing Centre Local court on June 21