Ex-governor among 64 linked to Bangladesh Bank reserve heist: CID

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has identified the involvement of 64 individuals and institutions, including former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman, in the country’s high-profile reserve heist case.

The CID has prepared a draft charge sheet in the long-running investigation and submitted it to the Attorney General’s Office for legal opinion, CID spokesperson Jasim Uddin Khan confirmed to media on Thursday (June 18).

He said the draft charge sheet, spanning nearly 10,000 pages, has been compiled after years of investigation into the cyber theft that targeted Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

According to case documents, unidentified hackers stole $101 million in February 2016. Of the stolen funds, $81 million was transferred to four accounts at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) in the Philippines, while another $20 million was routed to a bank in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka transfer attempt failed due to a spelling error in the payment instruction.

Authorities later managed to recover around $15 million from the Philippines.

The case was initially filed on March 15, 2016, by Jubayer bin Huda, then deputy director of accounts and budgeting at Bangladesh Bank, with Motijheel Police Station. The investigation is now being handled by the CID.

CID chief Additional IGP Md Sibgat Ullah earlier said that $81 million linked to the RCBC accounts had been frozen through legal processes, and efforts are underway to repatriate the funds following due procedures.