Crime paid well for these guys until they got caught, and were faced with bail. If you’re thinking you’re not the criminal type, think again… Just one drink and a 500 metre drive home is considered a crime.
You may get away with a R2 500 bail, but you may also be surprised to learn that in some cases, bail can exceed the minimum R1 million.
Curious about just how much the most expensive bails in the world are? Below we list the world’s top five:
Bernie Madoff, synonymous with a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Bernie was arrested for being associated in an infamous scandal. He was arrested with a bail set at $10 million (approximately R150 million), and is still sitting in jail as he was unable to post bail.
Shirley Ji, honours being the only woman on our list… Feminists praise! The wife of Kening Ma (next on the list) was connected to her husband’s legal importation scheme. With a bail of $75 million (more than R1 billion), her bail was set at half of her husband’s.
Kening Ma, was caught importing and selling motorcycles that did not meet American emissions testing standards. With a bail of $150 million (approximately R2 billion), this was one of the highest bails ever convicted.
Julius Meinl, a British billionaire, was arrested in suspicion of buying back the shares to his business which he sold – in secret. With a bail set at $100 million (approximately R1.5 billion) he got out.
Michael Milken, famous for Wall Street in 1989, was found guilty of 98 charges of racketeering and security fraud. After serving two years of a 10 year sentence for his crimes, he still had to pay $250 million (approximately R3.5 billion).
Some of these may be laughable and your bail may not be as steep, but you may be surprised at how much a small mistake could cost you, and just how funny you may find it when you’re sleeping on metal steel in the middle of winter.
If you ever find yourself needing to get out of jail, be sure you planned ahead with Legal Cover.
Interested in getting covered? To get an instant quote from one of our Legal Cover insurers, click here.
