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Driver from Palmas returned a million-dollar transfer made by mistake, but took the case to court to claim a reward and compensation for moral damages. The case is still awaiting a decision, while the defense requests clarifications on the stage that dispensed with witnesses.
The driver Antônio Pereira do Nascimento, from Palmas, Tocantins, is awaiting a court decision on the reward request after mistakenly receiving R$ 131,870,227.00 in his account, returning the amount to Bradesco, and suing the bank.
In the lawsuit, he claims R$ 13,187,022.00 for the right to a reward and also requests R$ 150,000 for moral damages, in a case discussing the legal effects of the voluntary return of a bank transfer made by error.
Recently, according to information published last Monday (08) by the G1 portal, the case once again stirred the process after the defense filed a motion for clarification against the decision that dispensed with hearing witnesses indicated by the parties.
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According to the Court of Justice of Tocantins, the request seeks clarifications on the judicial decision and remains under analysis within the legal deadline before the process advances to the next stage.
Justice analyzes clarification request
Signed by Judge Lauro Augusto Moreira Maia, of the 6th Civil Court of Palmas, the questioned decision understood that there was no need to hear the witnesses presented by the driver and the bank’s defense.
For the magistrate, the elements already gathered in the case files would allow for an early judgment of the case, without the need for this stage of witness evidence production in the process.
With the dismissal of the witnesses, the sentence became the next expected stage, but the motion for clarification needs to be analyzed before a decision on the progress of the action.
This type of resource is used when one of the parties requests clarification, correction, or supplementation of a judicial decision, especially in the face of possible omission, contradiction, or obscurity.
Since July 2024, the process has been underway in the Tocantins Court and was ready for judgment when the defense filed the new request in March 2026.
When asked about the case, Bradesco stated that it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, maintaining the institutional position regarding the action filed by the driver.
Million-dollar transfer mistakenly credited to account
The million-dollar transfer occurred in June 2023, when Antônio noticed that there was an amount incompatible with his financial reality deposited in the bank account held at Bradesco.
A customer of the institution for more than two decades, he contacted the bank to report the error and facilitate the full return of the money received improperly.
After the correction of the operation, the amount returned to the bank and the account balance returned to the previous level, without the driver retaining any part of the amount.
Information released at the time indicated that Antônio had R$ 227 before the improper transfer, an amount that reappeared as the balance after the return of the R$ 131 million.
The repercussion increased because the driver stated that he did not consider keeping the money, even in the face of an amount far exceeding the standard movement of his account.
In an interview given at the time, he summarized the shock of the situation by saying: “I’ve never seen money like this in my life and I could never in my life, only if I win the lottery, and I don’t play. So it’s difficult.”
After the return, Antônio also reported that he had been included in a more expensive bank fee, with a monthly charge that he associated with the episode involving the improper transfer.
Commenting on the charge, he stated that R$ 70 was deducted from the account and questioned the amount, claiming that he had contacted the bank precisely to return money that did not belong to him.
Defense demands reward of R$ 13.1 million
In the case, Antônio’s defense requests the payment of 10% of the returned amount, a percentage that corresponds to R$ 13,187,022.00 on the amount mistakenly transferred.
The argument presented by the lawyers is that the voluntary return could be classified under the right to a reward as provided in the Civil Code for those who return found items.
In addition to the millionaire reward, the action includes a request for R$ 150,000 for moral damages, claiming that the driver suffered emotional distress after reporting the error to the bank.
The defense also argues that Antônio experienced psychological pressure from the branch manager, even though he was the one who approached the financial institution to report the undue transfer.
Another claim presented in the case is that people were waiting at the driver’s house while the return of the amount was awaited.
With these arguments, the action attempts to apply to the digital banking environment a rule traditionally associated with the return of items found outside the financial system.
Among the central points of the dispute is the thesis that an undue bank transfer could also generate a reward for the account holder who identifies the error and fully returns the amounts.
Case had national repercussion
Father of four children and grandfather of 14 grandchildren, Antônio became nationally known as the driver who mistakenly received more than R$ 131 million and approached the bank to correct the operation.
The story gained traction on television programs and was featured in the segment “Acredite Em Quem Quiser” on Domingão, presented by Luciano Huck on TV Globo, in August 2023.
The participation increased the public repercussion of an episode that started as a banking error but later involved a judicial discussion about reward and moral damages.
Even with national exposure, the case has not yet been sentenced, and the court needs to first decide on the motions for clarification presented by the driver’s defense.
Only after this analysis will it be possible to know if the case will proceed ready for early judgment or if there will be any adjustment in the decision that dispensed with witness hearings.
Until this stage is concluded, the discussion continues on the request for a millionaire reward, compensation for moral damages, and the thesis about possible payment for the spontaneous return of a transfer made by mistake.
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