Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank
Governor has resigned on Tuesday over the world’s largest ever cyber heist of
$81 million from Bangladesh’s official account at the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York. Three of his subordinates have been fired following the crime has
taken place during the first week of February.
They are the first political
casualties since the theft came to light this month. Unidentified hackers have
diverted the money using official electronic bank messaging technology in early
February. Most of the stolen money has been transferred to accounts in the
Philippines linked with casinos.
Rahman, a noted economist and a
former university professor, has met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the
latter’s office in the morning of March 15 and handed over the resignation. He
has served for seven years as the central bank governor and scheduled to go on
retirement in August this year. Ihsanul Karim, press secretary to the prime
minister has confirmed the resignation.
Rahman has reiterated that the
central bank hasn’t informed him about the theft. He claims to get learned of
the matter a month later when the news first appeared in the media. However,
the prime minister has accepted his resignation, informs Rahman.
The cyber criminals have
allegedly tried to withdraw $951 million from country’s US bank account. But
the attempt has been foiled raising red flag following detection of
typographical error in one of the instructions.
More than $30 million of the
siphoned money has reportedly been handed over in cash to an ethnic Chinese man
in Manila, cites a Philippine Senator, investigating the suspected laundering
scheme. Bangladesh officials have been scrambling to recover the stolen money
due to global scale of the cyber heist.
Meanwhile, New York Fed has
confirmed that its system hasn’t been breached and has reportedly been working
closely with the Bangladesh Bank since reporting of the incident. The incident
has left other banks and businesses around the globe enthusiastic to learn
details.
Philippine authorities have recovered part of
the laundered money and launched an extensive investigation into the fraud
following a court order. The enthusiasts are reviewing their own networks for
signs of similar vulnerability to attacks. Rahman has been widely recognized
for his efforts in alleviation of poverty during seven years’ tenure as the
central bank governor. A stubborn character struggling during major parts of
his life seeking financial solvency has been witnessed to depart acknowledging
his failure to safeguard country’s liquidity.
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