Swedish man fined after taking another woman’s money left in ATM

A 65-year-old man in Sweden has been convicted of unlawful possession after taking SEK1,900 that a woman accidentally left in an ATM (Bankomat) in Upplands Väsby.

Swedish media reported on Thursday that the incident took place in January at an ATM in Upplands Väsby Centrum, north of Stockholm.

The woman had attempted to withdraw cash but believed the transaction had failed and left the ATM area.

However, the withdrawal had gone through, and SEK1,900 remained in the ATM’s cash slot.

Shortly afterwards, the man, who is in his 60s, entered the ATM room to make his own withdrawal. He noticed the cash and took it, according to Swedish media reports citing the news agency Siren.

During the preliminary investigation, the man admitted taking the money and said he was willing to repay the amount. He claimed, however, that he did not know it was illegal to keep money he had found and said he had never considered handing the cash over to the police.

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The court reached a different conclusion after reviewing surveillance footage. According to the reports, the footage did not show the man making any attempt to identify or locate the owner of the money. Instead, his actions indicated that he deliberately tried to conceal that the cash did not belong to him.

The man was convicted of unlawful possession and ordered to pay SEK100 daily fines totalling SEK52,000.

He must also pay SEK1,900 in damages to the woman, plus interest.

The case means the SEK 1,900 he took has ultimately cost him more than 27 times the original amount.