www.bbc.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
151.101.128.81
Public Scan
URL:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-68599027
Submission: On May 08 via api from LU — Scanned from DE
Submission: On May 08 via api from LU — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 0 forms found in the DOM
Text Content
British Broadcasting Corporation RegisterSign In * Home * News * Sport * Business * Innovation * Culture * Travel * Earth * Video * Live RegisterSign In Home News Sport Business Innovation Culture Travel Earth Video Live Audio Weather COMMERCIAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA GLITCH LETS CUSTOMERS WITHDRAW MILLIONS 18 March 2024 By Kalkidan Yibeltal,BBC News, Addis Ababa Share AFP More than 38 million people hold accounts at Commercial Bank Ethiopia Ethiopia's biggest commercial bank is scrambling to recoup large sums of money withdrawn by customers after a "systems glitch". The customers discovered early on Saturday that they could take out more cash than they had in their accounts at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). More than $40m (£31m) was withdrawn or transferred to other banks, local media reported. It took several hours for the institution to freeze transactions. * Latest updates from the African continent Much of the money was withdrawn from state-owned CBE by students, bank president Abe Sano told journalists on Monday. News of the glitch spread across universities largely via messaging apps and phone calls. Long lines formed at campus ATMs, with a student in western Ethiopia telling BBC Amharic people were withdrawing money until police officers arrived on campus to stop them. 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 02:00 local time. More than 38 million people hold accounts at CBE, which was established 82 years ago. Ethiopia's central bank, which serves as the financial sector's governing body, released a statement on Sunday saying "a glitch" had occurred during "maintenance and inspection activities". The statement, however, focused on the interrupted service that occurred after CBE froze all transactions. It did not mention the money withdrawn by customers. Mr Sano did not say exactly how much money was withdrawn during Saturday's incident, but said the loss incurred was small when compared to the bank's total assets. He stated that CBE was not hit by a cyber-attack and that customers should not be worried as their personal accounts were intact. At least three universities have released statements advising students to return any money not belonging to them that they may have taken from CBE. Anyone returning money will not be charged with a criminal offence, Mr Sano said. But it's not clear how successful the bank's attempts to recoup their money has been so far. The student from Jimma University said on Monday he had not heard of anyone giving the money back, but said he had seen police vehicles on campus. An official at Dilla University said bank employees were on campus collecting money that some students were returning voluntarily. MORE BBC STORIES ABOUT ETHIOPIA: * Ethiopia-Somaliland deal makes waves in Horn of Africa * Fear of famine in Tigray grows * Why Ethiopia's Amhara militiamen are battling the army * A quick guide to Ethiopia Universities Banking Ethiopia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related GAZA PROTESTERS DISRUPT US UNIVERSITY GRADUATIONS 2 days ago US & Canada LA POLICE CLEAR OUT PRO-PALESTINIAN CAMP AT UNIVERSITY 2 days ago US & Canada HOW MUCH DOES UNI COST, AND WILL I EARN MORE IF I GO? 2 days ago Family & Education -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More 6 days ago GOLDMAN SACHS REMOVES BANKERS' BONUS LIMIT Investment bank becomes the first to bring in changes first announced by Kwasi Kwarteng in 2022 6 days ago Business 30 Apr 2024 HSBC CHIEF EXECUTIVE UNEXPECTEDLY STEPS DOWN Europe's biggest bank said Noel Quinn will retire after almost five years in the role. 30 Apr 2024 Business 26 Apr 2024 OLD BARCLAYS BANK COULD BE TURNED INTO RESTAURANT A grant of £293,000 is awarded to a council for a renovation project. 26 Apr 2024 Beds, Herts & Bucks 25 Apr 2024 BANKING HUB BID TO HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES A community group is fighting for a shared banking space after the exit of big-name brands. 25 Apr 2024 Coventry & Warwickshire 24 Apr 2024 LLOYDS HIT AS BANKS COMPETE FOR MORTGAGE CUSTOMERS The banking group's results showed it had made less money from loans and mortgages compared with last year. 24 Apr 2024 Business -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- British Broadcasting Corporation * Home * News * Sport * Business * Innovation * Culture * Travel * Earth * Video * Live * Audio * Weather * BBC Shop BBC in other languages -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Terms of Use * About the BBC * Privacy Policy * Cookies * Accessibility Help * Contact the BBC * Advertise with us * Do not share or sell my info * Contact technical support Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.