Bank error makes man billionaire for some hours in China

BEIJING: A Chinese man became a billionaire when a huge amount of yuan was paid into his account after clerk mistakes account number for the amount of deposit to be paid in.

According to Chinese news website report, more than 1.2 billion yuan (HK$1.35 billion) being deposited into his new account. The man opened his account at a Rural Commercial Bank in Wangcheng county near Changsha in Hunan province, on Saturday afternoon, the news website Sohu.com reported.

Hours later the bank realised a clerk had inputted his bank number, 1212405260, as an amount to be deposited in the account. More than 1.2 billion yuan was put inside, the man told the news website Sohu.com.

The man was called back to the bank so he could return the funds.

In an interview given to a local press the man, whose identity is not yet revealed, said: “It was already after 6pm when I came back,” the man wrote on his social media account: “All the staff at the bank were waiting for me. I was given a packet of cigarettes and a red packet [of money] when I left.”

He also posted pictures of the bank receipt, with an official stamp.