A state-owned bank is clawing back millions of dollars from customers after a “routine system update” allowed people to take out more money than they had in their accounts.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) says $14 million was drained in a matter of hours as news of the bank’s malfunctioning system spread quickly among customers over messaging apps and via phone calls, reports the Associated Press.
The bank says about 15,000 people withdrew funds that aren’t theirs, with university students taking a majority of the money.
The schools themselves are now imploring their students to contact the bank and return the funds.
So far, the CBE says about 80% of the people who took the easy money have since returned the cash, and the bank is now trying to publicly shame the remaining 567 people who have not done so by listing their names and account details online.
CBE president Abe Sano says the losses are “not significant for the bank, but if this money is not fully recouped, it sends the wrong message.”
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is one of the largest banks in Africa with $23 billion in total assets and more than 40 million customers in over 1,940 branches.
