Citigroup mistakenly transferred $900 million, or roughly Rs 6,800 crore in Indian currency, on behalf of troubled cosmetic company Revlon to its lenders, a Bloomberg report said quoting sources, when they were least expecting it.

The “clerical error”, as Citi reportedly described it, took place amid a battle between Revlon and its lenders – largely hedge funds -- and few lenders said they would repay the money erroneously transferred. The report said Citi is probing how the mistake happened.

The lenders were demanding immediate payment from Revlon for a loan due several years later on grounds that the company had misused its collateral.

The amount that was transferred was about the total principal and interest that the lenders were seeking, according to the report. It came at a time when the market itself was bleak on any repayments from Revlon – its loans are valued at 25 cents to the dollar.

Revlon is struggling is its cosmetics business, facing competition from companies such as Estee Lauder and a bunch of upstarts, and was undergoing a debt restructuring programme to try and -emerge from COVID-19 hit.