The Ethiopia Commercial Bank has provided an update regarding an issue that resulted in significant financial discrepancies within its system. The president of the Ethiopia Commercial Bank, Mr. Abe Sano, has issued a statement detailing the extent of the problem and the steps being taken to address it.
Here’s what has been disclosed:
The nature of the issue that led to the discrepancy is still under professional investigation and has not been fully resolved yet.
• On Friday, April 6, a system glitch resulted in over 801 million Ethiopian Birr (ETB) being improperly withdrawn, with 622 million ETB subsequently recovered by the bank.
• 567 individuals who withdrew a total of 9.8 million ETB have not yet been able to return the funds.
• On the night of April 6, 2016, from 3 PM to 8:45 PM, transactions totaling 801.4 million ETB were made by 25,761 depositors.
• An audit revealed about 15,000 account numbers involved in attempts to gain unauthorized financial benefits.
• During the system glitch, 25,761 depositors conducted transactions, with a total of 238,293 transactions taking place. On average, one depositor made more than 9 transactions.
• Those depositors who conducted one or two transactions that day are not being penalized, and any improperly withdrawn funds are being returned to their accounts if they had sufficient funds. A total of 44 million ETB has been refunded to about 10,000 depositors who had sufficient balance in their accounts.
• The remaining 15,008 depositors completed 207,000 transactions. Each of these depositors, on average, conducted transactions 14 times during that night.
• As of the last update, 372 million ETB has been refunded to these 15,008 depositors, with 9,281 individuals fully settling their dues and the rest having made partial repayments.
• To date, 623 million ETB of the initial 800 million ETB has been accounted for. Efforts to recover the remaining funds and address the situation are ongoing.
• 567 depositors who obtained money through illegal means are still missing. Full addresses are available, and efforts to locate them are underway. These missing depositors are responsible for withdrawing a total of 9.8 million ETB, with one individual withdrawing as much as 324,000 ETB.
• The bank plans to publish the names of depositors who have not returned the funds in its branches and on its official website. Their names will also be removed from their accounts if they fail to return the funds, and legal action will be taken.
• The bank commits to refunding even a single birr taken without authorization.