Sydney student went on lavish A$4.6m shopping spree with a mistaken overdraft

The Malaysian student who splurged nearly $5 million in less than a year after mistakenly receiving an unlimited overdraft says she thought the money came from her parents.

Christine Jia Xin Lee, 21, spent A$4.6 million on luxury goods in 11 months - including $220,000 in a single day at the Christian Dior shop in Sydney.

Realising the error, a senior manager at Westpac Bank called Ms Lee on April 8, 2015, and demanded she account for the missing millions, reported Fairfax Media.

Transcripts of the call obtained by Fairfax reveal Ms Lee's extraordinary explanation.

"My parents give me lots of money," she told investigations manager Matt Tregoning.

"I bought clothes, shoes, lots of handbags ... They are in my unit at Rhodes.

"My mother is coming over to visit me in June and we will give the bank a cheque.

"I have [told my parents about it] and they are not very happy with me."

Court documents have also revealed that Westpac was alerted to Ms Lee's reckless spending on April 7, 2015, when she tried to transfer $1.15m to a different account with another bank.

Westpac immediately froze the account and contacted Ms Lee to ask what she had done with the money.

Following Ms Lee's conversation with Mr Tregoning, Westpac then took court action to seize all her assets, declare her bankrupt and confiscate her passport.

The chemical engineering student was arrested on May 4, 2016, after trying to fly home to Malaysia on an emergency passport.

She was charged with dishonesty obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

After being arrested in May, her release on bail was delayed after her boyfriend, Vincent King, failed to verify his identity as he was only carrying a Malaysian ID card.

A list of Ms Lee's purchases shows that the $4.6m was frittered away indulging her expensive taste for luxury items.

The list shows she spent $1,350 on a Chanel cashmere pillow, almost $9,000 on a Cartier love bracelet and another $2,500 on a pair of Christian Louboutin boots.

She bought 13 Hermes designer scarves and a number of their handbags - which can cost up to $150,000.

The extensive list shows that on April 9, 2015, she spent $220,200 at the Christian Dior Sydney store, returning the next day to spend a further $94,520.