The largest bank in Ethiopia claims to have recovered over 80% of the money it lost as a result of what it claims was a system glitch that let users withdraw more money than they had in their accounts.
The president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Abe Sano, informed reporters on Tuesday that the error resulted in the withdrawal or digital transfer of about $14 million. According to him, the transactions had a value ranging from 9 cents to $5,350. Initially, it was stated that $40 million had been lost.
According to a statement from the bank, around 15,000 customers have willingly returned money that was “taken illegally.” However, 567 people still haven’t returned money that is not theirs.The bank made their names and account information available online on Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to shame them into giving it back.
“The total amount remaining is not significant for the bank, but if this money is not fully recouped, it sends the wrong message,” Abe said.
News of the glitch went viral on social media on March 16. Much of the money was withdrawn by university students. Several universities have publicly urged their students to return the cash.
The problem was caused by a “routine system update and inspection” rather than a cyberattack, according to Ethiopia’s central bank.
Ethiopia’s banking system was shut down for several hours while the problem was fixed, with customers unable to withdraw cash.
Established in 1963, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is the country’s largest bank with 40 million customers.
Melissa Enoch
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