Massive bank glitch lets people withdraw millions from their accounts

More than £31million was withdrawn before the bank froze transactions after several hours (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

People across Ethiopia have managed to withdraw large sums of money from their bank accounts after a system glitch.

More than £31million was withdrawn mainly by students from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) after they found out they could take out more money than they had in their bank accounts.

The news spread via messaging apps and huge queues could be seen outside campus ATMs on Saturday, with reports that students were still withdrawing money even after police arrived.

A student who attends Jimma University Institute of Technology told the BBC he ‘did not believe it was true’ when the news broke.

Another student at Dilla University said a number of his friends were able to withdraw money from the bank between midnight and 2am local time.

Police vehicles have been spotted outside Jimma University but the student says he knows of no one who has given money back.

Meanwhile at Dilla University bank employees were collecting some money that students returned voluntarily.

Around three universities have released statements advising students to return money.

News of the glitch spread via messaging apps in Ethiopia (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

It is not yet clear how successful the bank’s attempts have been to retrieve back the money.

The CBE said it froze transactions, but this took several hours, local media reported.

In a press statement, Abe Sano, president of the bank said: ‘There have been attempted cyber attacks but the bank’s cyber security was not compromised.’

He added the problem was encountered during work to improve the banking system and people should not be worried about their accounts.

Mr Sano said the loss as a result of the glitch was small compared to the bank’s total assets and said anyone returning money will not be charged with a criminal offence.

Last year a Bank of Ireland glitch allowed customers to withdraw up to €1,000.

The issue prompted huge queues across Ireland at ATM machines, with people mistakenly believing they were being given free cash.

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