Man allowed to keep interest from €200 million bank error

A German man whose bank mistakenly gave him €200 million has been told he can keep the €12,000 interest earned while it was “resting in his account” overnight. The man, named only as Michael H., sold shares last April for €20,000 – but his online bank, Comdirect, accidentally put €200 million into his account.

Michael H. swiftly transferred €10 million of it into his current account in a different bank. And although Comdirect successfully clawed back all the €200 million, it demanded €12,000 on top – 14.4 percent interest on the money he moved.



The district court in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein, ruled on Thursday that Comdirect should repay the man the €12,000 – plus the interest it accrued over the last year. But the bank – which is owned by Commerzbank – is going to appeal. “People who want to use money that does not belong to them generally have to pay interest," a bank spokesman said.

“That is the same for everyone. We only implemented normal procedures – it was nothing more than correct protocol.” Michael H. admitted it was fun to be a multimillionaire for a moment, but now regrets moving the money. “It would have been better if I had done nothing.”