It was “absolutely fake” news, Bangladesh Bank spokesman Mezbaul Haque said today.
Hackers release documents and files that cybersecurity experts indicated the US National Security Agency had accessed the SWIFT interbank messaging system, allowing it to monitor money flows among some Middle Eastern and Latin American banks.
Bangladesh's central bank says it has reversed its plans to sue the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the SWIFT money transfer network, and instead intends to seek their help recovering $81 million stolen by cyber thieves in February.
Philippine banking regulators impose the single biggest monetary penalty on an erring financial institution in the country’s history, slapping Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) with a US$21.2-million ( P1-billion) fine in the wake of the cyber heist at Bangladesh Bank.
Investigators links malware used by Russian and eastern European cybergangs to a string of bank heists that culminated in the record-breaking theft of US$81 million from Bangladesh's central bank, people familiar with the probe said.
The government should carry out further investigation to find out whether the suspected Bangladesh Bank officials were really involved in the $101 million cyber heist, says Mohammed Farashuddin, head of the three-member body that probed the theft.
Hours before the Federal Reserve Bank of New York approved four fraudulent requests to send $81 million from a Bangladesh Bank account to cyber thieves, the Fed branch blocked those same requests because they lacked information required to transfer money, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The chief executive of secure messaging system SWIFT says the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank, by criminals sending fraudulent payment instructions via SWIFT, would force the organisation to shrink and review its strategy.
A government panel probing the $101 million Bangladesh Bank heist blamed the theft on SWIFT again and hinted for the first time at the involvement of central bank officials in its final report submitted yesterday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says instant and proper measures taken by the Bangladesh Bank after the heist from its fund with Federal Reserve Bank of New York prevented hacking of a larger sum of money.
Philippine banks are seen to reexamine vulnerabilities to potential fraudsters in order to avoid a repeat of the $81-million money-laundering scandal that has now become a global spectacle.
The globally publicized US$81-million money-laundering scandal is enough international embarrassment for the Philippines. The least the Philippine Government can do now is to return the money as fast as the legal process will allow.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes expressed his worries over delay in recovery of US$81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The treasurer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp of the Philippines resigns amid ongoing investigation on US$81-million money laundering case. The money was stolen on February 4 from Bangladesh Bank's account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Bangladesh Bank may have to wait longer before it gets the amount turned over by casino junket operator Kim Wong to the Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines for safekeeping, although the court has already asked authorities to preserve the money.
The Criminal Investigation Department of police claims to have identified 20 foreign nationals involved in the $101 million cyber theft from Bangladesh Bank fund from Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
It seems, had the Federal Reserve Bank of New York been cautious about financial transactions, the hacked funds of Bangladesh Bank could easily be stopped from being transferred to banks in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, and from there to the pockets of the hackers.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) says the bank could have held the stolen US$81 million if only the Bangladesh Bank sent "high priority messages."
Philippine senators debate whether or not the alleged stolen funds recovered from casino junket operator Kim Wong can be turned over to the government of Bangladesh without a court’s order.