A Citibank customer nearly became the richest person in the world overnight after a shocking banking error almost deposited $81 trillion into their account. The mistake, which was meant to be a simple $280 transaction, was missed by two employees before a third caught the staggering miscalculation. If the transaction had gone through, it would have been enough to purchase the entire U.S. stock market, multiple sports leagues, or even all of Elon Musk’s assets hundreds of times over.
The error, known as a “fat finger” mistake, was flagged within 90 minutes and swiftly corrected. Citibank reported the incident to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, confirming that their internal safeguards ultimately prevented the funds from ever leaving the bank. A spokesperson for the bank assured the public that while no real damage was done, the event highlights the importance of automating processes to eliminate manual errors.
This isn’t the first time Citibank has made an enormous financial blunder. In 2020, the bank accidentally sent $900 million to creditors of Revlon and spent years in legal battles trying to recover the funds. Just last year, a trader at Citigroup mistakenly sold $1.4 billion in shares instead of $58 million, causing a temporary stock market crash in Europe. Internal reports suggest the bank has had multiple billion-dollar near-misses in recent years.
While no lucky customer got to keep their $81 trillion fortune, the story has sparked discussions about the risks of human error in banking. With the increasing reliance on digital transactions, financial institutions continue to face challenges in preventing costly mistakes before they happen.
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