The African Union said Tuesday that an attempt to defraud more than six million dollars from accounts held at Ethiopia’s main bank had been foiled.
The AU said an individual not working for it attempted to withdraw money from its accounts at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), through fake payment orders to various recipients, – for works construction and water drilling.
“We commend the vigilance and rapid action of CBE staff and our finance department who successfully foiled the fraudulent attempt, resulting in no withdrawal of funds, avoiding a potential loss and ensuring that the integrity of our financial controls and management remains intact,” the AU said in a statement.
The incident took place on April 15 at a CBE branch at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
Ethiopian security authorities were informed and “swift action was taken to ensure that the person(s) involved were identified and detained in accordance with their investigation procedures.”
The AU said the attempted fraud was “disconcerting” but had highlighted potential vulnerabilities and led to a review of its security measures.
“We are working closely with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to strengthen safeguards and implement enhanced protocols to prevent fraudulent attempts to compromise the finances of the African Union.
In March, the CBE said it was the victim of a technical problem that led several thousand customers to make fraudulent withdrawals worth millions of dollars.
The bank said about $19.5 million was stolen, while some media outlets estimated losses as high as $100 million.
