Six-member committee formed to review BB reserve heist

The interim government has formed a high-level committee headed by Law Adviser Asif Nazrul to review issues related to the central bank's reserve heist in 2016.

The Cabinet Division issued a notification on Wednesday (March 12) forming the six-member committee. The committee has been asked to submit its recommendations within three months.

adviser to the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan, special assistant to the chief adviser Fayez Ahmed Tayyab, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Director Ali Ashfaq, and Rupali Bank Chairman Md Nazrul Huda have been made members of the committee.

The committee has been asked to review the progress of the investigation into the central bank's reserve heist incident in 2016 and other government steps taken in this regard, determine responsibility for the incident, and make necessary recommendations to prevent its recurrence.

The Financial Institutions Division will provide secretarial support to the committee. The committee may include members and hold meetings if needed.

On February 4, 2016, $81 million was stolen from the reserves of Bangladesh Bank. Unidentified persons took advantage of the SWIFT payment system to defraud Bangladesh Bank of this huge amount of money from its reserves kept at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA.