Publication of BB’s reserves heist probe report not now: Muhith

The investigation report on the reserve heist of Bangladesh Bank (BB) is not being made public because a case is still pending with a court in the Philippines, said finance minister AMA Muhith.

“There is a case in the Philippines . . . investigation report on the reserve heist is not being made public because of it,” Muhith said while talking to journalists after attending a seminar on “Medical Waste Management” at a hotel here this morning.

Sylhet City Corporation organized the seminar with Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury in the chair. Former Adviser to the Caretaker Government Professor Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Dr AK Abdul Momen, Vice Chancellor of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology Dr M Alamgir, among others, took part in the discussion.

About the medical waste management, he said it is urgent to take steps for the waste management of Sylhet City Corporation. The people need to be more conscious along with the government in this regard, he added.

Cyber criminals stole a total of US$101 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account with New York’s Federal Reserve Bank on February 5, 2016. The government formed a 3-member investigation committee, headed by former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Farashuddin, on March 19, 2017 to look into heist incident.

The probe body submitted its preliminary report to Muhith in April while the final report in May 30 last.

According to BB, hackers stole US$101 million Bangladesh Bank’s account with New York’s Federal Reserve Bank. The thieves were able to move about $81 million to accounts in the Philippines and another $20 million to a bank in Sri Lanka.

But they failed to transfer $20 million to Sri Lanka due to a spelling error. BB was able to bring bank $20 million from Sri Lanka. Later, the BB was also able to recover US$15.25 million from the Philippines.

Source: BSS