ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – National Bank of Ethiopia admitted on Thursday that $27 million has been withdrawn fraudulently from its City Bank account in New York by three Nigerians.
The bank, however, said the withdrawal has not affected its domestic operations.
“We have observed that South Korean police had arrested three Nigerians for allegedly obtaining millions of dollars from Citibank with a forged document purportedly from National Bank of Ethiopia,” the bank said.
It was reported that the suspects were caught on Monday in the Yongsan district of Seoul following a tip-off from a local bank employee.
In August, the trio allegedly sent a forged payment request from the National Bank of Ethiopia to Citibank in New York, according to the Ethiopian bank.
They asked for more than 30 million dollars to be sent to bank accounts in several countries, including South Korea, China and Tanzania.
According to the National Bank of Ethiopia, the money that was withdrawn in the name of the Ethiopian bank will soon be returned to the City Bank in New York.
“This fake withdrawal was carried out with fake photo copy documents and fax messages. There is no connection with the suspected Nigerians and employees of the National Bank of Ethiopia. We have been informed by City Bank that the money will soon be returned to Ethiopian saving account there,” said the bank.
The bank said the Nigerians were arrested while trying to withdraw some few remaining money from the bank in Seoul.
Two of the suspects were in South Korea on business visas while a third was an illegal immigrant. Their names were withheld.