Special Correspondent :
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have discovered insiders and outsiders link in the $101 million cyber heist from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) account held with the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
In its investigation, the CID personnel have found involvement of 15 BB officials and 23 foreign nationals in the crime, investigators said on Friday, raising questions how such a big move remained undetected.
They said criminals from six countries along with BB insiders were involved in the heist which is the biggest transnational organised financial crime ever seen in Bangladesh.
CID earlier sought technical and human assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for detecting the transnational criminals.
Members of CID’s Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) have already interviewed 117 Bangladesh Bank employees and officials, ranging door keepers to former governor and deputy governors, to get
evidences and information on the cyber heist.
Fifty of them banned for foreign travel.
The unit is investigating the cyber heist for the last nine months. Investigators also said they have detected the origin of transfer orders of $101 million basing on which the Federal Reserve Bank of New York paid money from Bangladesh Bank’s account to four private bank accounts with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), in Philippines.
On November 20 and 22, a CID team quizzed former BB deputy governor Dr. Naznin Sultana and Md. Abul Kashem. In March, they interviewed former BB governor Dr Atiur Rahman.
“We interviewed the former BB governor and deputy governors…We got nothing from them about the heist,” a senior CID official told The New Nation on Friday.
“But we found involvement of officials of BB’s four departments and foreign nationals during our investigation into the case,” he added.
Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank in February and managed to make off with $101 million via an account at the New York Federal Reserve. The amount was transferred to four accounts with bogus names at one RCBC branch in Manila before vanishing and $20 million in a Sri Lankan Bank.
The payment of $20 million stopped by the bank concerned.
“We have track down the culprits involved in the cyber heist,” Additional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam of CID (Organised Crime) told The New Nation on Friday.
He added, “We have found both insider and outsider link behind the crime”. Shah Alam said that they have already gathered documentary evidences and the interviews were taken to carry out the investigation are in matured format.
“Our investigation into the cyber heist is near to end with investigators confirmed link of some BB officials and dozens of foreign nationals,” he added.
He claimed the incident was not happened due to negligence on the part of BB officials. The CID had found “criminal intention” in their minds to launder the fund.
“Only ‘negligence’ or ‘incompetence’ can lead to issue one or two payment orders but not 35. We don’t want to reveal their identities for the “sake of investigation,” he added.
Responding to a query, Shah Alam said they have sought help from the Interpol and other foreign friends for taking action against the foreign nationals involved in the crime.
He, however, refused to disclose their names and nationalities. The CID officials said it is a matter of time to produce the charge-sheet in the BB’s cyber heist case. But we are not doing so because of retrieving the money from the Philippines.
A Philippines Senate probe earlier said that $30 million of the $81 million haul was delivered in cash to an ethnic Chinese casino junket operator in Manila. The rest was transferred to two casinos in the Philippines.
The authorities of Philippines recently handed over $15.25 million of the stolen fund to Bangladesh after a regional court of the country adjudged Bangladesh central bank is the rightful owner of the fund. On March 15, a case was filed with Motijheel Police Station in connection with the BB’s cyber heist.
BB joint director (Audit and Budget Department) Md Jubayer Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified people.
The case was filed under the Money Laundering Act, Information and Communication Technology Act and Bangladesh Penal Code and it was transferred to the CID for investigation.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have discovered insiders and outsiders link in the $101 million cyber heist from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) account held with the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
In its investigation, the CID personnel have found involvement of 15 BB officials and 23 foreign nationals in the crime, investigators said on Friday, raising questions how such a big move remained undetected.
They said criminals from six countries along with BB insiders were involved in the heist which is the biggest transnational organised financial crime ever seen in Bangladesh.
CID earlier sought technical and human assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for detecting the transnational criminals.
Members of CID’s Financial Crimes Unit (FCU) have already interviewed 117 Bangladesh Bank employees and officials, ranging door keepers to former governor and deputy governors, to get
evidences and information on the cyber heist.
Fifty of them banned for foreign travel.
The unit is investigating the cyber heist for the last nine months. Investigators also said they have detected the origin of transfer orders of $101 million basing on which the Federal Reserve Bank of New York paid money from Bangladesh Bank’s account to four private bank accounts with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), in Philippines.
On November 20 and 22, a CID team quizzed former BB deputy governor Dr. Naznin Sultana and Md. Abul Kashem. In March, they interviewed former BB governor Dr Atiur Rahman.
“We interviewed the former BB governor and deputy governors…We got nothing from them about the heist,” a senior CID official told The New Nation on Friday.
“But we found involvement of officials of BB’s four departments and foreign nationals during our investigation into the case,” he added.
Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank in February and managed to make off with $101 million via an account at the New York Federal Reserve. The amount was transferred to four accounts with bogus names at one RCBC branch in Manila before vanishing and $20 million in a Sri Lankan Bank.
The payment of $20 million stopped by the bank concerned.
“We have track down the culprits involved in the cyber heist,” Additional Deputy Inspector General Shah Alam of CID (Organised Crime) told The New Nation on Friday.
He added, “We have found both insider and outsider link behind the crime”. Shah Alam said that they have already gathered documentary evidences and the interviews were taken to carry out the investigation are in matured format.
“Our investigation into the cyber heist is near to end with investigators confirmed link of some BB officials and dozens of foreign nationals,” he added.
He claimed the incident was not happened due to negligence on the part of BB officials. The CID had found “criminal intention” in their minds to launder the fund.
“Only ‘negligence’ or ‘incompetence’ can lead to issue one or two payment orders but not 35. We don’t want to reveal their identities for the “sake of investigation,” he added.
Responding to a query, Shah Alam said they have sought help from the Interpol and other foreign friends for taking action against the foreign nationals involved in the crime.
He, however, refused to disclose their names and nationalities. The CID officials said it is a matter of time to produce the charge-sheet in the BB’s cyber heist case. But we are not doing so because of retrieving the money from the Philippines.
A Philippines Senate probe earlier said that $30 million of the $81 million haul was delivered in cash to an ethnic Chinese casino junket operator in Manila. The rest was transferred to two casinos in the Philippines.
The authorities of Philippines recently handed over $15.25 million of the stolen fund to Bangladesh after a regional court of the country adjudged Bangladesh central bank is the rightful owner of the fund. On March 15, a case was filed with Motijheel Police Station in connection with the BB’s cyber heist.
BB joint director (Audit and Budget Department) Md Jubayer Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified people.
The case was filed under the Money Laundering Act, Information and Communication Technology Act and Bangladesh Penal Code and it was transferred to the CID for investigation.
