The BNP has demanded a judicial inquiry into last month’s cyber heist involving the Bangladesh Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The party’s Standing Committee Member ASM Hannan Shah raised the demand before reporters in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman earlier resigned over the heist in which the central bank lost $81 million in what is being seen as the biggest cyber theft in global banking history.
Hannan Shah said, “Why would the governor be solely held responsible for this incident? The minister and the government are there above him (in the hierarchy).”
“We could have accused him had this been a stray incident. But we have seen Tk 40 billion getting ravaged in Basic Bank,” he added.
Stressing that the government could not shirk responsibility, Shah said, “The government should resign as the country’s wealth is being ravaged under its patronage.”
He said a judicial inquiry should be instituted into the incident to catch the culprits. “There is no use removing the governor.”
Last month’s heist created a ripple in banking circles around the world, though the incident came to light in Bangladesh only a few days ago.
Filipino newspaper the Philippine Daily Inquirer had reported on Feb 29 that Bangladesh Bank funds were transferred from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York into bank accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka by using the Bangladesh Bank’s SWIFT code.
The Bangladesh Bank admitted that $81 million from the Bangladesh account in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had been shifted to the Philippines and another $20 million to Sri Lanka.
The central bank kept the government and its board of directors in the dark about the heist for about a month. Finance minister AMA Muhith first learnt of it from media reports.
On Sunday, he lashed out at the Bangladesh Bank vowing action for having ‘the audacity not to inform him about issue’.
Hannan Shah said, “Many people from the central bank are involved in the heist. I have seen a list of Bangladesh Bank officials. I would like to ask you (journalists) also to check the list.”
Claiming that such theft was not possible without insider involvement, Shah urged journalists to check that list.
Source: Bd news24