A Dhaka court has set 18 May as the new deadline for submitting the probe report in the high-profile Bangladesh Bank (BB) reserve heist case, which dates back to 2016.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam fixed the date after the investigation agency, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), failed to submit the report in court on Thursday.
The court directed that the report be submitted on the next scheduled date to ensure the continuation of legal proceedings in the case.
The BB heist involved the theft of $101 million from the central bank’s accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on 5 February 2016. Of the stolen funds, $81 million was transferred to four accounts at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation in the Philippines, while another $20 million was sent to a bank in Sri Lanka. However, the transfer to Sri Lanka failed due to a spelling error made by the hackers.
Following the incident, the BB managed to recover approximately $15 million from the Philippines. The heist prompted widespread concerns over cyber vulnerabilities in financial institutions and led to an intensive investigation by the CID.
The case was filed by former Deputy Director of Accounts and Budgeting at the BB Zobayer Bin Huda with Motijheel Police Station on 15 March 2016. The court has been closely monitoring the investigation, which has involved tracing international transactions and identifying those responsible for the cyber theft.
Authorities and banking experts say the case remains significant not only for recovering the stolen funds but also for strengthening Bangladesh’s cybersecurity framework and preventing future financial crimes.
