Ethiopia’s largest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, is facing a significant challenge as it attempts to recoup millions of dollars following a technical glitch that enabled customers to withdraw substantial sums of money beyond their account balances.
The incident, which occurred over the weekend, resulted in more than $40 million being withdrawn from the state-owned bank or transferred to other financial institutions before transactions were halted.
The bank’s president, Abie Sano, revealed that a considerable portion of the funds withdrawn during the glitch were taken by students, leading to long lines at campus ATMs as news of the opportunity to withdraw unlimited funds spread rapidly.
The student, who attends Jimma University Institute of Technology, said he “did not believe it was true” when his friends told him at around 01:00 local time (22:00 GMT) that it was possible to withdraw large amounts from ATMs, or transfer the money using the bank’s app.
Another student at Dilla University in southern Ethiopia said a number of his peers retrieved money from CBE between midnight and 2:00 am local time.
Despite the chaos caused by the glitch, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has confirmed that its ATM services are now fully operational and denied allegations of a cyber attack as the cause of the disruption. Ethiopia’s central bank has reassured the public that the incident was a result of routine system security checks and not a threat to the stability of the bank or the financial system.
The interruption, which saw half a million transactions made during the glitch, prompted the bank to work closely with law enforcement to recover the lost funds. Notably, the bank has expressed leniency towards students who withdrew money that did not belong to them, stating that they will not face criminal prosecution if they return the funds.
The glitch at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia follows Ghana’s recent loss of approximately 1,596.6 Gbps of data capacity as a result of multiple undersea cable cuts. The disruption has had a significant impact on various sectors, such as banking, healthcare, education, and government services.
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