Ethiopia’s primary banking institution issued a stern “final warning” on Wednesday to over 5,000 account holders implicated in exploiting a technical malfunction to unlawfully withdraw millions of dollars.
During a system upgrade in the East African nation, approximately $19.5 million was siphoned off as a result of transactions not being reflected in account balances for a five-hour window overnight on March 15-16, as disclosed by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
“The bank warns that it will take legal action against those who do not return the money within this period,” CBE said in a statement Wednesday, extending the deadline to return the money from March 23 to March 30.
“We will publish your names and photos in various mass media and declare that you are suspected of committing illegal money transfers.”
Following the widespread dissemination of the glitch, particularly within student circles online, individuals flocked to ATMs and executed multiple transfers, exacerbating the situation, local media reported.
Estimates suggest potential bank losses could exceed $100 million.
Ahead of the initial deadline, more than nine thousand clients “voluntarily” reimbursed the funds, leaving 5,166 account holders yet to fulfill their obligations, according to the state-owned bank.
As of Tuesday, the CBE disclosed that roughly 80 percent of the initially withdrawn or transferred funds had been recovered.
Established in 1963, the bank prides itself on serving 40 million customers through a network of over 1,940 branches across Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with a population of 120 million.
