borkena
Toronto – In a revealing incident, a senior Ethiopian Defense Force Commander encountered early signs of a systemic breakdown at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia ATM in North Ethiopia in December 2023, months before a significant issue emerged in March 2024.
According to confirmed reports, in March 2024, clients were able to withdraw money they did not have in their accounts via mobile banking and ATMs, leading to a loss of hundreds of millions of Ethiopian Birr. Some sources suggest the loss was between five and ten billion birr due to the system’s vulnerability on the night of March 16, 2024. Recently, the Bank claimed to have recovered over 99 percent of the lost funds due to “illegal withdrawals.” However, it is now emerging that a systemic glitch was reported to the Bank in December 2023.
Colonel Abebe Desta, the Logistics and Supply Distribution Head of the North East Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force, reported a systemic glitch at an ATM in Kombolcha town, North Ethiopia. The Defense Force shared a report on its social media page stating that Colonel Abebe attempted to withdraw 4,000 Ethiopian birr from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia ATM at Sheik Shabir Branch in Kombolcha but received double the amount. When he conducted another transaction to withdraw 2,000 birr, the machine dispensed 4,000 birr.
Confused, Colonel Abebe asked his driver to count the money, confirming that the machine dispensed 12,000 birr for a 6,000 birr transaction request. Observing similar issues with another nearby ATM machine, Colonel Abebe ordered the ATMs not to be used and instructed users who had withdrawn money not to leave. He then brought the matter to the attention of the branch manager, Solomon Tsegaye, and returned the 6,000 birr that was not his.
Colonel Abebe received recognition from the bank for his actions to protect its money. This incident is being highlighted to demonstrate the integrity of the Ethiopian Defense Force, which may not sound well for many in light of the accusations from opposition voices and media outlets, mainly based outside of Ethiopia, of grand corruption among senior commanders.
However, the story reveals that the problem within the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia surfaced at least three months before the major incident in March 2024. It is unclear if the Bank undertook a systemic check at the time.
__
Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena
Like borkena on Facebook
Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory
Join the conversation. Follow us on X (formerly twitter) @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly. Subscribe to YouTube channel To share information or for submission, send e-mail to info@borkena.com