New Delhi: In 2012, a surprising mistake happened at a German bank when a tired clerk accidentally made a huge financial error. While processing a transaction, the exhausted employee fell asleep for a moment and accidentally held down a key, leading to a big mistake.
What seemed like a small mistake led to a staggering transfer of 222,222,222.22 euros (around Rs 2,000 crore) instead of the intended 64.20 euros. Luckily, a vigilant colleague noticed the error in time and stopped the transaction before it went through, preventing a huge financial disaster.
The incident also resulted in the dismissal of the supervisor in charge of reviewing the transaction. However, a labor court in Hesse later deemed the termination unfair. The court acknowledged that while the supervisor had missed the error, it wasn’t serious enough to justify being fired.
The judges pointed out that the supervisor’s job involved reviewing a massive number of documents daily—812 transaction on the day of the incidentt—often with only seconds to check each one. Given the heavy workload, it was nearly impossible to catch every mistake.
The court found no ill intent on her part and decided that a formal warning would have been a more appropriate response. The judges also criticized the bank for placing unrealistic expectations on the employee. The incident sparked a debate about online transactions with many people calling for stronger safeguards in banking operations.
