Bank employee naps on keyboard, transfers millions

BERLIN: An obviously tired German bank employee fell asleep on his keyboard and accidentally transformed a minor transfer into a 222 million euro ($293 million) order, a court heard Monday.

The Hessen labour  court heard that the man was supposed to transfer just 62.40 euros from a bank account belonging to a retiree, but instead ''fell asleep for an instant, while pushing onto the number 2 key on the key board'' -- making it a huge 222,222,222,.22 euro order.

The bank discovered the mistake shortly afterwards and corrected the error.

The case was taken to court by the man's 48-year-old colleague who was fired for letting the mistake slip through when verifying the order.

The court ruled that the plaintiff should be reinstated in his job.

AFP