On Tuesday, the African Union announced that an attempt to defraud the pan-continental body of over $6 million from its accounts at Ethiopia's main bank had been thwarted.
According to reports, an individual not employed by the African Union tried to withdraw the money from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) through forged payment orders for various recipients for construction and water drilling works.
The attempted fraud took place on April 15 at a CBE branch at the African Union's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
The AU's finance department and the CBE staff quickly identified and stopped the fraudulent attempt, averting potential losses and ensuring the integrity of financial controls and management.
The AU has commended the vigilance and swift action of CBE staff and its finance department and has informed Ethiopian security authorities.
The AU also stated that the attempted fraud highlighted potential vulnerabilities and initiated a review of its security measures.
The AU is working closely with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to reinforce safeguards and implement enhanced protocols to prevent fraudulent attempts that could compromise the finances of the African Union.
In March, the CBE reported that it experienced a technical glitch that resulted in several thousand customers making fraudulent withdrawals amounting to millions of dollars.
The bank confirmed that around $19.5 million was taken while some media reports estimated the losses to be as high as $100 million.
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