March 16: The central bank scam that has exploded into a financial earthquake in Bangladesh has claimed a major victim with its Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman resigning.
The much publicised resignation comes amid a firestorm over a cyber-heist which caused Bangladesh to lose more than $80 million kept with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Governor tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday. After his resignation, the government sacked two of the Deputy-Governors and formed a three-member high-powered committee to investigate the heist. The government has also appointed former finance secretary Fazle Kabir as the new Governor of the Bangladesh Bank.
News report on the theft
The theft came to light only after Philippines’s Daily Inquirer newspaper ran a report on February 29 that the country was probing a money laundering incident involving cross-border electronic funds transfer.
The Governor was criticised for keeping the government as well as its board of directors in the dark for more than a month over the heist.
The hacking took place on February 4 using information stolen through a malware that sent a total of 35 transfer orders to the NY Federal Reserve Bank where the Bangladesh Bank has an account.
