Photo : Collected
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has almost completed the investigation into the sensational Bangladesh Bank (BB) reserve theft incident.
In this case, the investigating agency found that 12 senior officials, including the then-governor of the central bank, bear responsibility for negligence.
Among them are the then Executive Director (now retired), one General Manager (now Deputy Governor), four Joint Directors (two of whom are now Deputy General Managers, one retired Joint Director), three Deputy General Managers (two of whom are now GMs), and two Deputy Directors.
Apart from the former governor and executive director, the rest of the officers were from the Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department, Accounts and Budgeting, IT Operations and Communication Department, Payment System Department, and Back Office of the Dealings Room. Some of them opened the server room, some provided internet connections, and some, through their absence, created opportunities for hackers.
Eight years ago, on February 4, 2016, hackers stole 80 million US dollars from Bangladesh Bank's reserves. The miscreants withdrew that substantial amount from the Bangladesh Bank's reserves kept in the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York using the SWIFT payment system. The money went into four accounts at a Rizal Bank branch in Makati City, Philippines, and was quickly withdrawn from there.
Later, 1 crore 5 million dollars came back at different times. 6 crore 60 lakh dollars or 561 crore taka has yet to return to the country. 39 days after the incident, a case was filed by Bangladesh Bank in Motijheel Police Station under the section of Money Laundering, Money Laundering, and Prevention of Cyber Crimes Act. Later, CID was given the responsibility of investigating the case.
CID chief and Additional Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Ali Mia, told reporters that the investigation of the discussed case is at its final stage. They have previously received information about the involvement of citizens of Malaysia, Egypt, Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong from the respective countries. However, the information sought from India, USA, China, and Sri Lanka is yet to come. They have sent letters to these countries and contacted the embassies there. They took some time. Only when all that information is available can the chargesheet be quickly submitted to the court.
What emerged from the investigation regarding the liability of the former Governor Atiur Rahman is that the Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Reserve SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) server is a sensitive system. Nevertheless, the governor approved and confirmed the implementation of RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) connectivity through SWIFT. Investigators identified this as criminal intent. RTGS is a specialised fund transfer system through which funds can be transferred instantly from one bank to another.
The investigation also revealed that the then Deputy Governor-4, Abul Kashem, was against providing RTGS services through SWIFT, due to which Governor Atiur Rahman himself signed and approved the file related to RTGS service. Apart from this, CID has also identified issues such as controlling the SWIFT server by a recidivist, bringing a foreign organisation to the crime scene after the reserve theft, purposely destroying evidence at the crime scene, and keeping the incident of reserve theft secret for 40 days.
According to related sources, the involvement of the then Executive Director, Subhankar Saha, in deciding the RTGS connection with the Swift server has come under CID investigation. Swift server security is compromised due to RTGS connections. Investigators believe that 101 million dollars were stolen from Bangladesh Bank's reserves through this method.
Regarding the officials found responsible in the CID investigation, what action has Bangladesh Bank taken? When asked about this, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Md. Mezbaul Haque told reporters that action will be taken against the accused officials after receiving the police report.
Md. Mezbaul Haque refused to comment on the question of whether he has also been accused in the investigation.
However, CID sources say that among the 12 officers named in the investigation, Md. Mezbaul Haque is also included. The investigation about him revealed that after the theft of Bangladesh Bank's reserves, the then Deputy General Manager, Md. Mezbaul Haque, brought two foreign IT companies to the spot of the incident on February 17, 2016, without informing any investigative agency in the country. He instructed them to gather information from the crime scene, which is completely illegal. Through this, much important information and evidence were lost.
So far, CID has taken time from the court 76 times to submit the investigation report of the case to the court. The last date for submitting the investigation report was December 31. In view of the investigation officer's request for time, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) of Dhaka has set the next date for filing the court report on February 25.
Messenger/Fameema
