Bank Clerk Makes $293 Million Error After Falling Asleep: Reports

A bank clerk made a $293 million error after falling asleep, according to a report on Tuesday.
Bank Clerk Makes $293 Million Error After Falling Asleep: Reports
Jack Phillips
6/11/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

A bank clerk made a $293 million error after falling asleep, according to a report on Tuesday.

The clerk fell asleep for a moment during a transfer request and held down the number 2 on his keyboard, changing an amount from 62.40 euros to 222 million euros ($293 million), according to CNN Money, citing testimony in a German court. Specifically, the clerk typed in 222,222,222.22 on the keyboard.

The clerk “fell asleep for an instant, while pushing onto the number 2 key on the keyboard,” said court documents, according to AFP.

A system check spotted the massive error.

The supervisor of the clerk employee, who worked for the bank for 26 years, was later fired for failing to properly check payment slips.

CNN reported that the supervisor also spent less than 1.4 seconds evaluating 603 payments, and appeared to make other errors.

However, a regional court in Hessen, western Germany, ordered that the supervisor get her job back because it should have first issued a warning, according to the Daily Telegraph.

It ruled that failing to spot the error was a “terrible mistake,” but noted there was no evidence that she sought to cause harm deliberately, according to the paper. It was not clear if the bank clerk lost their job.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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