BB decides to sue RCBC soon over reserve heist

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has decided to file a case against Philippine’s RCBC Bank in a New York court to recover the money stolen from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank in 2016.

BB deputy governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan said this at a press briefing in the capital yesterday (Wednesday).

Hackers swindled USD 101 million from the central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank in February 2016. “We have already traced USD 50 million, which is still going through court proceedings in the Philippines. However, the rest still remains traceless," said Abu Hena.

“If the RCBC wants to negotiate within these three months, they can. Otherwise, we will go ahead with the case,” he added. According to Abu Hena, the BB’s effort to recover the rest of USD 66.4 million is continuing.

On January 29, BB Governor Fazle Kabir had said Bangladesh will soon receive USD 1.2 million more from the Philippines as part of the process to retrieve the money stolen from the central bank's foreign reserve account in 2016.

“The process of recovering USD 1.2 million from the Philippines is now in the final stages. Bangladesh has so far recovered USD 14.54 million out of the USD 81 million stolen money. The process to retrieve USD 50 million more is still going through court proceedings (in the Philippines),” he had added. Moreover, he had said that significant progress has been made in retrieving another USD 6 million.

Abu Hena said a team of officials of BB and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) visited Manila from January 30 to February 4 and the Philippines authorities has assured Bangladesh that they would help recover the highest amount of money.

On November 10 last year, the Philippines authorities had sent back USD 14 million to BB following a court order, retrieved mostly from a Manila casino junket operator.

Prior to that, in February 2016, Bangladesh received USD 70,000 from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) of Manila.

Abu Hena also said that out of the un-recovered money, USD 17 million are in the money laundering company Philren. A case has been filed in the regional court of the Philippines by Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to recover the money from Philren. Besides, USD 29 million has been transferred to Solaire Casino which was frozen by the court of Philippines. It is under trial in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, he added.

The deputy governor of the central bank said the stolen money will be recovered soon through initiatives taken by BB.

He, however, said it would take time to complete all legal procedures of different countries.

BB decides to sue RCBC soon over reserve heist

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has decided to file a case against Philippines RCBC Bank in a New York court to recover the money stolen from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank in 2016. BB deputy governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan said this at a press briefing in the capital yesterday (Wednesday). Hackers swindled USD 101 million from the central banks account with the Federal Reserve Bank in February 2016. We have already traced USD 50 million, which is still going through court proceedings in the Philippines. However, the rest still remains traceless, said Abu Hena. If the RCBC wants to negotiate within these three months, they can. Otherwise, we will go ahead with the case, he added. According to Abu Hena, the BBs effort to recover the rest of USD 66.4 million is continuing. On January 29, BB Governor Fazle Kabir had said Bangladesh will soon receive USD 1.2 million more from the Philippines as part of the process to retrieve the money stolen from the central banks foreign reserve account in 2016. The process of recovering USD 1.2 million from the Philippines is now in the final stages. Bangladesh has so far recovered USD 14.54 million out of the USD 81 million stolen money. The process to retrieve USD 50 million more is still going through court proceedings (in the Philippines), he had added. Moreover, he had said that significant progress has been made in retrieving another USD 6 million. Abu Hena said a team of officials of BB and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) visited Manila from January 30 to February 4 and the Philippines authorities has assured Bangladesh that they would help recover the highest amount of money. On November 10 last year, the Philippines authorities had sent back USD 14 million to BB following a court order, retrieved mostly from a Manila casino junket operator. Prior to that, in February 2016, Bangladesh received USD 70,000 from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) of Manila. Abu Hena also said that out of the un-recovered money, USD 17 million are in the money laundering company Philren. A case has been filed in the regional court of the Philippines by Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to recover the money from Philren. Besides, USD 29 million has been transferred to Solaire Casino which was frozen by the court of Philippines. It is under trial in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, he added. The deputy governor of the central bank said the stolen money will be recovered soon through initiatives taken by BB. He, however, said it would take time to complete all legal procedures of different countries.