CID delays Bangladesh Bank heist report for 13th time

The investigator of Bangladesh Bank's reserves heist has failed to submit charges for the 13th time since the case was filed last year.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate AKM Mainuddin Siddiki on Tuesday fixed May 21 as the next deadline for submission.

The Criminal Investigation Department’s Additional Superintendent Raihan Uddin Khan failed to submit the case's chargesheet, said recording officer Jalaluddin, a sub-inspector of the court police.

The central bank filed the case with Motijheel police in February last year after unknown hackers stole $81 million from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The CID was given the charge of investigating the case filed under Money Laundering Prevention Act and the ICT Act.

About $15 million of the stolen reserves that made it to Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp was returned to Bangladesh, and efforts to recover the rest are continuing.

The high-profile theft raised questions globally about the efficiency of systems to secure transaction between banks.

A probe panel formed by the Bangladesh Bank, headed by former governor Mohammed Farashuddin, submitted its report to the Finance Ministry on May 30 last year, but Finance Minister AMA Muhith did not release the committee's findings despite repeated pledges to do so.