Deadline for submitting BB heist probe report extended

A Dhaka court on Sunday asked the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) again to submit by 13 March the probe report on 2016 cyber heist of Bangladesh Bank’s $81 million fund.

The deadline was extended as the CID investigative officer failed to submit the report on Sunday.

Dhaka Metropolitan magistrate Shadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury passed the order after Md Raihan Uddin Khan, additional superintendent of CID, failed to produce the probe on time.

The case was filed after robbers had stolen $101 million from the Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank in New York through fraudulent instructions against their target of about $1 billion in February 2016.

It was suspected that Dridex malware was used for the attack.

Although, some $20 million was recovered from a Sri Lankan bank, $81 million, which landed in Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), could not be recovered.

Most of the money transferred to the Philippines went to four personal accounts, held by individuals.

Bangladesh has so far recovered around $18 million of the $81 million transferred to the Philippines.

Dhaka has recently lodged a case with a New York court seeking recovery of the rest amount.