Bangladesh’s central bank has confirmed that its account at the US Federal Reserve Bank was hacked and over $100 million stolen from foreign reserve.
A Bangladesh Bank spokesman confirmed the theft on Wednesday amid media uproar after sources in the central bank hinted that unknown hackers had stolen $101 million of which $81 million entered the Philippines and the rest went to Sri Lanka to be used in casino business.
“They ordered transfers out of a Federal Reserve Bank of New York account held by Bangladesh Bank,” said central bank spokesman Subhankar Saha. He said hackers had breached the security system of the bank in early February and stole credentials for payment transfers, in one of the biggest bank thefts in history.
The hackers had sent 35 advices to the US Federal Bank but only 5 of those were complied with until the theft was unearthed, he added.
Bangladesh Bank officials said while $81 million of the stolen amount entered the Philippine banking system on February 5 and several layers of subsequent transactions made their way out into Hong Kong, the rest $20 million ended up in Sri Lanka.
They said the thieves took an attempt to launder a further $870 million through same channel, but their plan was foiled after an American bank recalled the transfer order.