Ethiopia’s largest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), faced a glitch over the weekend allowing customers to withdraw unlimited funds, leading to over $40 million being withdrawn or transferred before transactions were halted, CNBC reports.
The bank’s President Abie Sano reported that a significant portion was withdrawn by students, with long lines forming at campus ATMs. Several universities have urged students to return the excess money and Sano promised no criminal prosecution for those who comply.
The CBE confirmed the service interruption but denied it was due to a cyber attack, attributing it to system security checks. The central bank assured the incident did not endanger the financial system.
