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Thiruvananthapuram: None from the Kerala university thought that a typo error would cost where a careless bank clerk swapping Rupee with dollar symbol will cost the state exchequer Rs 16.5 lakh. The avoidable, yet shocking blunder occurred at the Centre for Latin American Studies where a clerk swapped “Rs” with “Dollar” symbol while transferring funds to a Brazil-based journalist as remuneration for the 4 online lecturers he delivered in 2023.
The difference between the intended fee of Rs 20,000 and the amount that went through which is $20,000 in reality has left the Kerala university poorer by Rs 16.5 lakhs. Adding to the miseries, all efforts that went to recover the money has lost in vain. The fund transfer was meant to the designated account of Kathleen Martinic, wife of guest lecturer Milan Sime Martinic. The mistake, officials said, occurred at SBI Thejaswini branch in Thiruvananthapuram’s technopark.
The centre reported the loss to the university in 2024 after which the authorities wrote to the guest lecturer.
“Martnic promised to credit the excess amount back to the university account. However, the money never reached us, though he have claimed to have repaid it” said an official in the Kerala university to a regional media house.
Martinic died a few months later, further reducing the chances of receiving the money it had credited on June 15, 2023 to his account.
The centre has filed a complaint with the banking ombudsman, but the matter remains unresolved. SBI, which has admitted to the grave error from its part has sought the university’s assistance in refunding the amount from the side of the recipient.
The incident has come as a huge embarrassment for the Kerala university and the staffs who said that such an issue had never occurred earlier or in the recent past
