Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court on Tuesday fixed October 20 as the new date for submission of the probe report over the Bangladesh Bank (BB) reserve heist that took place in 2016. The date is thus given for the consecutive 37th time.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury passed the order as the investigation agency- Criminal Investigation Department (CID) – failed to submit its report yesterday.
Hackers stole $101 million from BB’s accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February 2016. Of the stolen amount, $81 million was transferred to four accounts with Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) in Manila, and another $20 million to a bank in Sri Lanka. However, Bangladesh Bank was able to retrieve only about $15 million from the Philippines.
Meanwhile, transfer of $20 million to Sri Lanka failed because of a spelling error by the hackers. Later, the central bank was able to retrieve only about $15 million from the Philippines.
Bangladesh Bank Deputy Director (Accounts and Budgeting) Zobayer Bin Huda filed the case with Motijheel Police Station on March 15, 2016. The case was filed under the Money Laundering Act, Information and Communication Technology Act, and Bangladesh Penal Code.
The government has not disclosed yet the Farashuddin-led committee’s investigation report on Bangladesh Bank reserve heist that took place due to unprotected security systems and irresponsibility of the central bank officials.
This cyber heist took place around three and a half years ago, on the night of February 4, 2016. Bangladesh Bank discovered the theft the next day, but after learning about the theft of foreign currency reserves, the governor of Bangladesh Bank at the time, Atiur Rahman, concealed the matter from the government for 24 days.
In fact, it was on the 33rd day after the heist that the central bank officially informed the finance minister about the matter.
The inquiry committee was formed on March 15 that year, headed by former governor of Bangladesh Bank, Mohammad Farashuddin. On that day the bank filed a case with the Motijheel police station.
The next day the case was handed over to the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
