May 28, 2025
The Bank says it was rather an attempt to transfer but foiled
By: Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has officially dismissed reports circulating on social media and select news outlets alleging that over 7.7 billion Ethiopian birr (approximately $56 million) was illicitly transferred from the bank’s internal accounts to individuals and businesses.
In a statement issued today, CBE described the claims, initially reported by Ethiopian Media Service (EMS) and later echoed by various news outlets, as “completely false.”
“No funds were stolen from our bank,” the statement read. “What actually occurred was an attempted fraud, which was swiftly identified and stopped by our internal control systems before any money could be disbursed.”
The bank emphasized that its real-time monitoring systems flagged the suspicious transaction within minutes. Officials say the fraud attempt was orchestrated by a limited number of individuals, and that it was not a systemic breach.
“The suspects acted independently in pursuit of illegal financial gain. Thanks to our robust safeguards, we prevented the transaction from being completed,” CBE said.
Following the failed attempt, the bank immediately reported the incident to law enforcement. Police have since apprehended suspects connected to the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.
“As one of the largest financial institutions in Ethiopia, we recognize we may be targeted by bad actors. However, the rapid detection and prevention of this attempt is proof that our systems are both modern and resilient,” the bank added.
CBE also clarified that it will release additional details once the investigation process concludes.
The controversy was sparked when EMS, citing unnamed sources, alleged that billions of birr were transferred from the bank’s internal accounts to private entities and individuals, including Kerchanshe Trading—an agricultural export firm reportedly owned by Israel Degefu. The report claimed the company received up to 4 billion birr and further alleged that government officials and bank employees were involved.
The news outlet unspecified sources citing security concerns. Police have yet to issue an official statement regarding the alleged incident or any arrests connected to it.
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia also claimed that it has not withheld any information, but rather is cooperating fully with authorities and following due legal procedures. However, the bank did not disclose that there was an attempt to illegally transfer money from its accounts until a day after Ethiopian Media Services reported which borkena cited as a source for a story published on Tuesday this week.
BACKGROUND
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has been experiencing financial challenges and received support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), apparently as part of funding to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Macro Economic Reform introduced in July 2024 which also entailed an arranged depreciation of the Ethiopian currency by over 100 percent.
The Bank has a history of unprecedented fraud since Abiy Ahmed took power as Prime Minister in 2018. In march 2024, Abe Sano, President of the Bank, confessed that 490,000 illegal transactions were conducted over 24 hours following what was described as “systemic glitches.” Although it was reported at the time that the bank lost 5 billion birr when individuals were able to transfer to another account the money they do not have in their account. Later, the bank claims that it managed to recover much of it.
Edited by Dimetros Birku
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