With all the data Finance workers handle on a daily basis, it’s understandable for mistakes to crop up occasionally. But this banker’s error was so outrageous it was clear something else had to be going on.
Here’s what happened: A German bank employee had been directed to transfer 62.40 euros into a bank account, a fairly standard procedure.
A $295 million slip
Instead of transferring the modest amount he was supposed to, the banker ended up sending over 222,222,222.22 euros ($295 million in U.S. dollars) from the bank’s reserve.
Apparently after he received the transfer request, the banker fell asleep …. right onto his own keyboard. And unfortunately for the sleepy banker, this caused the nearly $300 million transfer.
Luckily the bank had a number of safeguards in place, so it was able to notice and correct the error.
However, the lender understandably upset and fired the banker after the incident.
But fortunately for the man, a German court ruled that he should get his job back.