Court Sets BB Cyber Heist Probe on October 19
- CID fails to submit forensic probe report on eighty-one million dollar heist
- Decade-long international investigation under ICT and money laundering laws remains pending
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has failed once again to submit its forensic investigation report regarding the 81-million-dollar cyber heist targeting Bangladesh Bank's foreign reserves.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Joshita Islam deferred the submission deadline to October 19 on Monday, September 14, following CID's failure to present its technical findings. Previously on August 9, the investigation agency missed its deadline, prompting the court to schedule September 14.
On February 5, 2016, cybercriminals infiltrated Bangladesh Bank's network infrastructure, compromising financial messaging credentials across the SWIFT platform to illegally transfer 81 million dollars from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The stolen funds were subsequently routed through financial institutions and casinos in the Philippines.
Following the intrusion, on March 15, 2016, Jobayer Bin Huda, then Deputy Director of Bangladesh Bank's Accounts and Budgeting Department, filed a case with Motijheel Police Station against unidentified cyber actors. The case was lodged under Section 54 of the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006, Section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012, and Section 379 of the Penal Code.
On March 16, 2016, the case was transferred to the CID for digital forensics and cybercrime investigations, yet the final report remains pending nearly a decade later.
//DBTech/OC/SE/EIC//
