Man who received £250,000 has account frozen

The Spanish bank account of an Irishman who received nearly €300,000 in error from the Bank of Ireland has been frozen.

Mr David Hickey, from Tallaght in Dublin and now living in Spain, unexpectedly came into possession of the money last month following a visit to the Inchicore branch of Bank of Ireland.

When he asked for £1,500 worth of Spanish pesetas to be transferred to his account in Spain the Bank transferred almost €300,000 in error to his Spanish account, the equivalent of just over £248,000.

A spokeswoman for Bank of Ireland said the Bank had obtained a court order about ten days ago to allow them to freeze his account. She added that the bank’s legal team were taking further steps to recover the money.

She added that the written permission of Mr Hickey was still required before the bank could reclaim the money.

Mr Hickey claims to have spent a portion of the money. "I've taken a bite of the cherry," he said. The bank is seeking to recover the full amount.

Bank of Ireland do not need a court order to freeze bank accounts held in the Republic of Ireland or in the UK.

According to gardaí in Dublin, Mr Hickey has committed no crime.