A technical glitch in the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) system allowed thousands of customers to withdraw and transfer unlimited funds that did not belong to them.
Things spiraled out of control when university students spread the virus through messaging apps and phone calls, leading to massive queues at ATMs on March 16.
After several hours, the bank managed to resolve the issue, but initially it was believed that more than $40 million had been withdrawn; although in reality it was about 14 million dollars (approximately 798 million Birr).
Bank management and authorities urged people to return the money, especially students who withdrew much of the cash.
622.9 25,761 months ago 238,293 months ago $9,281 million ago $5,160 million pic.twitter.com/3LVTkIgOoO
— Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (@combankethiopia) March 26, 2024
Legal consequences for those who do not return it
Abe Sano, director of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), warned that those who keep the money could face criminal prosecution; That’s why thousands of people came to return it voluntarily.
“There is no way to escape them because these are digital transactions and they are our customers.” We know them. “They are traceable and legally responsible for what they did,” Abe said.
A week after the incident, the bank managed to recover about $10 million. However, some experts said funds transferred to other banks were more difficult to recover.
The bank confirmed to the BBC that it was not the victim of a cyberattack, but that the error occurred during maintenance work on its systems.
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