DHAKA: Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith denied talking about the stealing of Tk 800-crore from Bangladesh Bank reserve as he was not aware of the incident.

‘But it is unusual’, he added.

The minister made this assertion while talking to the media after a meeting with World Bank representatives at his government residence ‘Tanmoi’ on Hare Road in city Monday afternoon (March 7).

The issue came on light when a Philippines newspaper ‘The Inquirer’ published a report on February 29 saying that some hackers laundered USD 100 million from Bangladesh to Philippines through a branch of Reserve Commercial Banking Corporation situated in Makati.

The report also said that Philippines Anti-Money Laundering Council has been investing the matter. The money has been transferred to another country by using casinos and other sources.

After informing the matter, the higher officials of Bangladesh Bank met on February 14 and sent BB Accounts and Budgeting Department DGM Zakir Hossain and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) joint director Mohammad Abdur Rob to the Philippines for three days from February 16.

They met the foreign country’s central bank ‘Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’ and Anti-Money Laundering Council members separately and sought help catch the hackers.

BDST: 2124 HRS, MAR 07, 2016
BD/RR/SMS