CYBER HEIST
BB to file case with US court this month
STAFF REPORTER, Dhaka
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) is going to file a case with a US court next week over the cyber heist of its reserves in which $81 million was stolen nearly three years ago. A case will be filed at a New York court this month to recover the stolen money of BB, finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told journalists after holding a meeting with Bangladesh Bank governor and others at the Secretariat in the capital. However, the finance minister did not disclose the names of the accused in the case.
Lawyers of Bangladesh and the United States will finalise the names of the accused in the case, he said. The minister held a meeting with a high-powered committee comprising BB and government officials, who went to the US to decide how to proceed with filing the case against individuals or groups involved in the heist in order to recover the funds.
Sources in Bangladesh said a four-member delegation, led by Md Ashadul Islam, secretary of the Banking Division, went to the US on January 7 to hold discussions with a US-based law firm over the issue. The other members of the committee
are Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, chief of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, adviser Deb Prasad Debnath and joint director Abdur Rab. They returned to Bangladesh on January 14 after completing the necessary formalities from the US.
Now, two lawyersone from Bangladesh and other from USwill jointly move the New York court on behalf of Bangladesh in this regard. Sources said a committee comprising the BB governor, finance minister, law minister, and other senior government officials will go to the US next week to file the lawsuit.
In the case, BB is likely to accuse the RCBC, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) and others for the fraudulent orders which saw USD 81 million stolen from the central bank.
On February 5, 2016, criminals used fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system to steal USD 81 million from BBs account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in one of the worlds biggest cyber heists. As per the US law, all money-laundering cases have to be filed within three years of the crime being committed. So, BB must proceed with legal action by February 5. Earlier on March 15, 2016, BB had filed a case at Motijheel police station in the city in connection with the USD 101 million heist from its account with the US federal reserves. Sub-inspector of the police station, Nishat Jahan, said BB joint director M Jubayer Bin Huda filed the case against unidentified people.
Despite the lapses of more than two and a half years, police are yet to submit the chargesheet in the case.
In the latest development, a Dhaka court till January 9 asked the police 28 times to submit the chargesheet in the case.
On January 9, Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Sadbir Yeasir Ahsan Chowdhury set February 10 as the new deadline by which the probe report on a case filed over the cyber heist has to be submitted. Mohammad Raihun Islam, investigating officer of the cas and also assistant superintendant of the police (ASP) of the criminal investigation department (CID), has been asked to submit the chargesheet before the court on February 10.
It may be mentioned that a Philippine court, on January 10, convicted a former branch manager at Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) for money laundering. It is the first conviction over the Bangladesh Bank reserves heist. The Makati regional trial court sentenced Deguito to a jail term ranging from 32 to 56 years, with each count carrying four to seven years. She was also ordered to pay about USD 109 million as fine.
