Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Bangladesh Bank Governor was forced to resign for failure to run the central bank following the stealing of US$ 101 million from its New York account. But the Governor’s claim that he was most successful Governor and the Prime Minister’s praise of his ‘courage to resign on moral ground’ was uncalled for a humble person to say the least.After such an internationally disgraceful failure as the Governor of the central bank of Bangladesh to claim that he resigned as a hero was most irresponsible claim. Now we have to know for whom who are protecting him for his success.There is a growing number of people who believe that like the Governor the Finance Minister should also quit to allow the rebuilding of the country’s collapsed banking and financial sector.Finance Minister Muhith in an interview with a Bengali daily said in the latest heist at central bank, its officials are involved. He further said the success of Governor Atiur Rahman during his tenure can be mainly attributed as a political slogan monger instead of showing professional competence to discipline the banking sector. He passed more time taking international tours while neglecting the hard-core duty that caused the security loopholes without effective oversight from the top. The Finance Minister has also blamed the Governor for failing to take actions against BASIC Bank and Hallmark group which had stolen money from Sonali Bank. He says nothing new and everything was known to others. Only the Finance Minister is pretending not knowing and doing anything to stop him.But it is a shame that he had to retract from the truth he said about the just resigned Governor of the central bank. The Central Bank heist case shows no difference in the way the Governor has been allowed to escape from the accountability regime while some other senior officers lost their job as a result of his overall failure.The Finance Minister made it clear that the money lost can hardly be retrieved. But multiple investigations by police and other intelligence agencies are underway to identify the culprits. This is the answer for protecting the thieves of public money and no Finance Minister is needed for making stealing public money easy.Meanwhile, investigators of the central bank heist have already drawn up plan to visit USA, Philippines and Sri Lanka to identify culprits. Initial investigation showed hackers had installed advanced malware in at least 32 computers at Bangladesh Bank and tested its functioning on January 24 and 29 before they finally carried out their operation. To find culprits, such expensive foreign trips are unnecessary.The place of bank robbery is Bangladesh, people involved in the theft are in Bangladesh and the proposed foreign trips are sheer wastage of more public money.
