Bangladesh Bank transfers forex wing chief Sayedur to Rangpur

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has brought a sudden change at the helm of its department that handles and manages foreign reserves.

Kazi Sayedur Rahman, the General Manager (GM) of the Forex Reserves and Treasury Management Department, has been transferred to the central bank’s Rangpur office.

He was replaced by Human Resources Department 2 GM Md Azizur Rahman, around three months after the $81 million cyber heist in the central bank’s foreign reserve account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

BB spokesperson Subhankar Saha said an order in this regard was issued on Sunday. But he dubbed Sayedur’s transfer a ‘routine change’.

“Rangpur office’s GM post has been vacant for quite some time now. Sayedur Rahman has been transferred to fill that up,” he told bdnews24.com.

“Sayedur Rahman was the station’s senior most. According to the Bangladesh Bank rules, only seniors can be transferred to offices outside (Dhaka).”

Saha said six more posts were undergoing changes for the same reason.

Kazi Sayedur Rahman

Sayedur Rahman has been working as the forex wing chief for over one and a half decades. The central bank in 2008 had also awarded him a gold medal for his efficiency in services.

During his time in office, Bangladesh Bank’s foreign reserves went from nearly $2 billion to a current $29 billion even amidst global recession. At the same time, the exchange rates of foreign currencies were also stable.

In February, hackers using the SWIFT messaging platform attempted to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh’s account in the US.

The size of the transactions triggered concern, which led to the New York Fed’s blocking the transfer of $20 million to a bank in Sri Lanka, but the hackers were able to move $81 million to some accounts in the Philippines diverted to casinos there.

Most of those funds still remain missing.

Philippine Daily Inquirer had brought the heist into public domain at the end of February. It was later found that the central bank officials knew about the matter but had kept it under wraps for a month.

Facing harsh criticism and intense pressure for apparently trying to cover up the incident, Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman had stepped down while the government sacked two of his deputies.