How bank error made Chennai taxi driver a billionaire for 30 minutes with Rs 9,000 crore transfer
Rajkumar, was soon shocked to discover that this was not a hoax but an error made by the bank. In a whirlwind of events, he managed to transfer Rs 21,000 to a friend before the colossal sum was promptly withdrawn by the bank, all within a span of just 30 minutes.
Hailing from Neikkarapatti village near Palani, Rajkumar had rented a room in Kodambakkam, where he lived with fellow taxi driver friends.
On September 9, following a long day of work, he decided to take a brief afternoon nap.
Around 3 p.m., Rajkumar's phone chimed with a message notification from his bank, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB), indicating an unexpected deposit into his account. The figure was so colossal that Rajkumar struggled to comprehend it, with numerous zeroes making it difficult to tally.
Up until that point, his account had contained a meager Rs 105.
Initially, Rajkumar dismissed the message as a spam or a potential attempt to deceive or prank him. However, upon closer examination of his message inbox, he verified that it was indeed an authentic text alert sent from TMB's official number.
Responding swiftly, Rajkumar transferred ₹21,000 to a friend, but within a matter of minutes, the bank swiftly debited the balance amount.
The following morning, officials from TMB in Thoothukudi got in touch with him, acknowledging the colossal mistake and urging him not to withdraw any more funds.
With the bank officials even hinting at the possibility of filing a police complaint, Rajkumar chose to visit the T Nagar branch of the bank, accompanied by a legal advocate. There, both parties managed to reach a compromise.
