Committee formed to review BB reserve heist

NN Online:

The Cabinet Division has set up a six-member committee, led by Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, to investigate the Bangladesh Bank (BB) reserve heist.

A gazette notification has been issued on Wednesday.

The members of the committee includes Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and Ministry of Railways, Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, special assistant at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, Ali Ashfaq, director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Nazrul Huda, chairman of Rupali Bank PLC.

The committee has been tasked with evaluating the 2016 Bangladesh Bank reserve theft investigation’s progress, reviewing government actions, identifying responsible parties and providing necessary recommendations.

Hackers stole $101m from BB’s accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February 2016. Of the amount, $81 million was transferred to four accounts with RCBC in the Philippines and another $20 million to a bank in Sri Lanka.

However, the transfer of $20 million to Sri Lanka failed because of a spelling error by the hackers.

Later, the BB was able to retrieve about $15 million from the Philippines.

Then Bangladesh Bank Deputy Director (Accounts and Budgeting) Zobayer Bin Huda filed a case with Motijheel Police Station on March 15, 2016 over the heist.