Greenpeace Lost $5 Million on a Currency Bet

Greenpeace International issued an apology Monday amid reports the environmental organization lost 3.8 million euros, or about $5.2 million, on foreign currency trades.

The group said a Greenpeace employee acted “beyond the limits of their authority and without following proper procedure” when entering into fixed rate currency exchange contract while the euro was gaining strength. The organization has since fired the employee responsible and says the employee did not benefit personally from the mistake. An independent audit of the error will be conducted.

“We offer a full apology to our supporters for the series of errors that led to the loss,” Greenpeace said in a statement. “We further wish to reassure people that every possible action is being taken to avoid the possibility of such a loss ever occurring again in future.”

The loss will be reflected in the organization’s upcoming budget, which will reportedly show a deficit of 6.8 million euros in 2013. To make up for the loss, Greenpeace says it will not take money from its environmental protection funds to cover the loss, but instead they will make amendments to its “infrastructure investments.”