Bangladesh CB Governor resigns over $101 mln hack-in heist 

DHAKA - Bangladesh Central Bank Governor Atiur Rahman resigned on Tuesday as tensions escalated with the finance minister after hackers stole about $101 million from the nation’s foreign reserves, Bloomberg news agency reported.
The crisis first came to the fore after an alert Sri Lankan bank teller, more than two weeks ago, alerted global authorities over a suspicious remittance to a local NGO.

Rahman submitted his resignation on Tuesday to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to A.F.M. Asaduzzaman, a spokesman at Bangladesh (Central) Bank. 

The move comes two days after Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith called Bangladesh Bank’s handling of the cyber theft "very incompetent."

"If it’s my fault, they can take action against me, against Bangladesh Bank," Rahman told Bloomberg on Tuesday before meeting with the prime minister. “But they cannot insult me in public."

The cyberheist has rattled authorities from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka to the Philippines, where much of the stolen money ended up. The central bank said it recovered $20 million of the stolen funds, and $81 million is outstanding. Rahman was due to retire in August, when he turns 65, after helming the central bank for seven years.
In Sri Lanka, the Central Bank said a bank teller, examining an intended remittance for around $25 million, was doubtful about the recipient NGO as the name on the remittance had been spelt as ‘Shakila Fandation’ (instead of Foundation). He alerted local and global authorities which led to the hack-in heist of nearly $1 billion, the biggest ever in banking history, being foiled. – ENDS -

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