International
CBN gov in Bangladesh resigns after $81m hack
The Central Bank Governor of Bangladesh has thrown in the towel after hackers allegedly stole the sum of $81m belonging to the government from a U.S bank.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Central Bank Governor Atiur Rahman told reporters he was “ready to resign from my post for the sake of the country” and he honourably did so today after he was blamed for failing to inform the finance minister about the
massive cyber-heist in good time.
The hackers, preliminary investigations revealed accessed Bangladesh Bank’s computer systems and stole key information in order to pull off the brazen electronic theft.
The US Federal Reserve Bank in New York transferred $81m from Bangladesh’s bank account on February 4 into the accounts of four men in the Philippines, after receiving what appeared to be legitimate transfer orders.
Read also: Two opposition leaders executed in Bangladesh
The transfer of another $20m to a Sri Lankan bank was stopped after a routing bank became suspicious of a spelling mistake
and sought clarification from Bangladesh Bank, officials said.
The governor has been strongly criticised in recent days for failing to inform the finance minister about the huge loss, which only came to light following news reports in the Philippines – one month after the money was illegally transferred.
“I am very unhappy about the handling of the matter by Bangladesh Bank – very incompetent,” Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said on Sunday.
Bangladesh’s government said last week it will sue the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for failing to prevent the theft.
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