Ethiopian bank recovers over $10m lost during glitch

Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank has said it recouped more than three-quarters of money it had lost after a technical glitch allowed clients to withdraw or transfer more money than they had in their accounts.

In a press statement on Tuesday, the head of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Abe Sano, said more than $14m (£11m) was withdrawn from cash machines or transferred to other accounts during the incident that took place on 16 March.

More than $10m has already been recovered, Mr Abe said.

Initial reports by local media said the amount of money transacted during the glitch could be as high as $40m.

Many of the transactions were made by university students.

According to the bank’s chief, thousands of clients returned the money voluntarily.

He added that those who haven’t done so could face criminal charges.