Bangladesh heist: 6 Sri Lankans banned from leaving

A Sri Lankan court banned foreign travel by six directors of a foundation that the police said was remitted some of the $101 million stolen in the hacking of Bangladesh Central Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. The immigration department will implement the order, spokesperson Lakshan Zoysa said.

Colombo chief magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya issued the order on Monday based on a police investigation of a complaint made by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Sri Lanka’s Central Bank. The police reported to court that the Shalika Foundation had opened an account at a private bank in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on January 28 and six days later, that account received $19,999,977.50. The bank alerted the Bangladesh Central Bank about the remittance and returned the money.

The police said the foundation was set up to help low-income families.

The address of its office appears to be a closed-up house in Colombo, and the foundation has no other known contact information.

Meanwhile, a Chinese man settled in the Philippines, who is suspected to have received part of the $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh Central bank, will reveal all he knows about the heist next week, his lawyer said on Wednesday. According to a complaint filed by a government agency in Manila, Kim Wong, described as a Chinese casino resort manager, received around $21 million of the stolen funds.

Victor Fernandez, a lawyer for 53-year-old Wong, told Reuters his client would respond to the complaint at a Senate hearing next week.

Wong was summoned by the Senate last week but Mr Fernandez represented him at the hearing and said his client was in Singapore. He returned on Sunday, Mr Fernandez said.

“He will answer everything. He will not invoke his right to remain silent,” Mr Fernandez said. “He will answer these questions in open session.” In a related development, a Bangladeshi cyber crime expert, who went missing while he was assisting the police in the case, returned home early on Wednesday, his wife said. Tanveer Hassan Zoha had disappeared last Thursday, two days after he accompanied special police to the offices of the Bangladesh Bank.