US Federal Reserve Bank to be sued: Muhith

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York would be sued following the hacking of around $100 million (Tk 780 crore) from foreign currency account of Bangladesh Bank, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said today.

“They [Federal Reserve Bank authorities] cannot not avoid their responsibility in any way. Of course...a case will be filed against them,” the minister replied to a query from a journalist. He was talking to reporters at his finance ministry office.

ALSO READ: Hackers steal $100m from BB account

Earlier, the Federal Reserve Bank denied that its payments systems were breached, Reuters reported yesterday.

"To date, there is no evidence of any attempt to penetrate Federal Reserve systems in connection with the payments in question, and there is no evidence that any Fed systems were compromised," said New York Fed spokeswoman Andrea Priest in response to queries about the claim.

Yesterday, Bangladesh Bank officials claimed that they have identified the people involved in the hacking.

Almost the entire amount was transferred online to the Philippines banking system and a small portion of it to Sri Lanka by suspected Chinese hackers on February 5, they said.

A senior BB official told The Daily Star yesterday that a small portion of the stolen money has already been recovered from Sri Lanka. But the money, which is in the Philippines, is yet to be recovered.

“We are dealing with the issue. Those who were behind the hacking have been identified,” said the official.