Viral news: A simple clerical confusion between USD and rupee has come as a shock, as Kerala University’s Centre for Latin American Studies suffered an enormous loss of Rs. 16.5 lakh. The incident is from 2023, when a Brazilian journalist was transferred the fee for delivering four online lectures. The fee intended for the lectures was Rs. 20,000. However, the clerical typo of a “$” in place of “₹” changed the complete course of events, as the journalist was mistakenly paid the amount of 20,000 in dollars instead of rupees. Here, we take you through the complete details and answer: ‘If the fee was granted back to the university or not.’
A Brazil-based journalist delivered four online lectures to the Kerala University’s Centre for Latin American Studies in 2023, for which the designated fee was Rs. 20,000. However, the shock arrived when SBI’s Tejaswini bank clerk in Thiruvananthapuram’s Technopark confused the sign of rupee with dollar and made an enormous transfer, which was supposed to be of just Rs. 20,000. The error of the clerk left the university with a loss of Rs. 16,50,000, as reported by the TOI.
The centre informed Kerala University about the financial loss in 2024. According to the reports, the authorities contacted the guest lecturer Milan Sime Martinic to return the money. The money was transferred to the bank account of his wife, Kathleen Martinic. The TOI reported that the guest lecturer claimed to transfer the excessive amount back to the university, which it never did. The shocking part is that Martinic passed away after some months, decreasing all hopes for money to return back.
The financial error was admitted by the bank. It asked for the support from the university to urge Martinic to avail the money back, which was mistakenly transferred on June 15, 2023.
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