Sydney shopaholic jailed for whopper fraud

Sydney - A Sydney accountant who stole 45 million Australian dollars (48 million US dollars) from her employer over a five-year period was sentenced Friday to a maximum of 15 years in jail.

Rajina Rita Subramaniam pleaded guilty to Australia’s biggest-ever individual fraud and would serve at least seven years in jail for bilking Dutch financial services firm ING Group.

The 42-year-old spent her lunchtimes shopping in high-end retailers like Chanel, Hugo Boss and Armani.

She spent more than 16 million Australian dollars on jewellery. She did not wear it but kept it in unopened boxes under her desk.

She gave 1.3 million Australian dollars to one shop assistant and 240,000 Australian dollars to another.

Subramaniam became the owner of eight luxury apartments, seven of which she left empty. An eighth was let rent-free.

Her husband told the court he had no knowledge of the crime. They lived simply in an outer Sydney suburb. //DPA