Citigroup Tragedy Averted: $81 Trillion Error Nearly Hits Account

NEW YORK, USA — Citigroup narrowly avoided a monumental blunder last April when a bank employee mistakenly entered a transaction amount of $81 trillion instead of the intended $280. The error was caught before any funds left the bank, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The incident, termed a ‘near miss,’ occurred when the erroneous amount was credited to a client’s account, drawing significant attention due to its staggering nature. Estimated at five times the total wealth of the UK and sufficient to purchase every asset owned by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, more than 200 times, the transaction was quickly reversed.

According to internal sources, the mistake was first overlooked by two bank employees responsible for processing the transaction. It was not until 90 minutes later that a third employee discovered the error and promptly rectified it before any funds could be mistakenly transferred.

A spokesperson for Citigroup stated, “Despite the fact that a payment of this size could not actually have been executed, our detective controls promptly identified the inputting error between two Citi ledger accounts, and we reversed the entry. Our preventative controls would have also stopped any funds leaving the bank.”

Although no funds were transferred, the incident raises questions regarding Citigroup’s operational security and risk management practices. The bank has been trying to enhance its internal controls after experiencing several significant errors in recent years, including a $900 million error involving Revlon creditors in 2020, which culminated in a protracted legal fight and the departure of then-CEO Michael Corbat.

The report states that Citigroup recorded ten ‘near miss’ incidents involving sums exceeding $1 billion last year, down from 13 the year before. The ongoing challenges suggest the bank is still working to resolve operational deficiencies almost five years after the Revlon incident.

The situation was disclosed to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as part of Citigroup’s efforts to maintain transparency with regulatory bodies.

In addition to the April incident, the bank faced scrutiny in 2022 when a Fat-Finger trading error resulted in a “flash crash” across European stock markets. Such occurrences have prompted heightened accountability measures at the banking institution.

Citigroup’s spokesperson emphasized their commitment to improving protocols, noting, “While there was no impact to the bank or our client, the episode underscores our ongoing efforts to streamline processes and implement automated controls to mitigate human error.”