Riobamba and the Central Bank blame each other for the $ 13 million stolen

Mayor Juan Salazar

After an alleged electronic diversion of $ 13 million dollars from the Town Hall of Riobamba from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) made to individual accounts, originated yesterday an exchange of accusations between representatives of both entities.

“I insist on rejecting the policy of the Central Bank of Ecuador, of not wanting to be responsible for the diversion of funds, when they are the ones in custody of the money from the people of Riobamba. I reiterate that many of the illegal transactions occurred in times outside the normal working of both the Central Bank and the City,” said Mayor Juan Salazar yesterday.

Referring to the alleged illegal diversion of $ 13,308,261 to 31 accounts from individuals and businesses, using the password of the Riobamba Town Hall, which is handled by only three people authorized, Salazar reported that the main account was hacked and the transfers were made between 4, 6, 8 and 10 April.

Meanwhile the Central Bank, after blocking the accounts, recovered $ 10 million, but declined, through a newsletter, it is a hack. The bureau said the system “has high levels of reliability and extreme security measures against hacking, so the mayor of Riobamba assertions about what happened are unfounded and have no technical support.”

Additionally it informed that “any public institution that has an account at the BCE receives unique passwords and nontransferable, through which financial transactions can be processed within 24 hours of the day (like any bank).” The mayor alleged that illegal transfers were carried out in after hours, some even at midnight.