I&M Bank Rwanda, a commercial bank in the country, lost $10.3 million in fraudulent customer withdrawals between November 1, 2022, and January 17, 2023.
The amount is higher than the $7.6 million net profit that I&M Group made from the Rwandan market in the fiscal year that ended in December 2022.
According to the bank, fraudsters hacked into its Swift system — used to send money internationally — and made unauthorised transfers to bank accounts across the globe.
The fraudsters reportedly started the transfers with phoney paperwork, and I&M Bank Rwanda didn’t discover this until the recipients of the fraudulent transfers contacted the bank.
Since then, the bank has launched an investigation into the incident and is working closely with relevant law enforcement to track the criminals and recover the stolen funds.
Thankfully, underwriters may bear a portion of I&M losses because banks insure cash on hand, cash in the bank, and cash in transit to protect themselves against financial loss.
I&M Bank entered Rwanda in 2012 by acquiring a majority stake in Banque Commerciale du Rwanda.
The Rwandan division has been I&M’s most successful business outside of Kenya, serving over 65,000 customers through roughly 18 branches, 33 ATMs, and more than 400 employees. The bank said they have recovered some funds while investigations are still ongoing.