Bangladesh: Central bank governor quits after heist

‘$30m in cash sent to a Manila casino junket operator’

Bangladesh’s Central bank governor resigned on Tuesday over the theft of $81 million from the bank’s US account, as details emerged in the Philippines that $30 million of the money was delivered in cash to a casino junket operator in Manila.

The rest of the money hackers stole from the Bangladesh Bank’s account at the New York Federal Reserve, one of the largest cyber heists in history, went to two casinos, officials told a Philippines Senate hearing into the scandal. They said a mix of dollars and Philippine pesos was sent by a foreign exchange broker to the ethnic Chinese junket operator over several days, a haul that would have been made up of at least 780,000 banknotes.

Unknown hackers last month breached the computer systems of Bangladesh Bank and attempted to steal $951 million from its Fed account, which it uses for international settlements. They managed to transfer $81 million to entities in the Philippines.

Bangladesh Bank officials have said there is little hope of apprehending the perpetrators and recovering the money would be difficult and could take months.

In Dhaka, Central Bank governor Atiur Rahman said he had resigned to set an example in a country where there is little precedence of accountability and to uphold the image of the institution.

The government also fired two deputy governors of the bank, finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said, days after blaming it for keeping the government in the dark about the theft.

Rahman’s exit could be a blow to Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 160 million. The country has been aspiring to reach middle-income status, and Mr Rahman was seen as one of the driving forces helping Dhaka towards that goal. Under the former development economics professor, the country’s foreign exchange reserves have increased four-fold to $28 billion and he also sought to ensure farmers and women entrepreneurs had better access to banking services and credit.

Mr Rahman defended his record at the Central Bank, saying he was proud of his achievements there. He described the heist as an “earthquake” and said the bank had promptly informed intelligence agencies in Bangladesh and abroad and also brought in international experts to investigate.