The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has dismissed media reports suggesting that investigators have already prepared a draft chargesheet in the long-running Bangladesh Bank reserve theft case.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the agency said, “information published in several news reports and attributed to CID officials had not been provided by the organisation.”
“The information published in those reports regarding a draft chargesheet, citing CID officials, was not provided to any media outlet by any CID officer,” the statement also said.
The CID urged both the public and media organisations not to consider the reported claims as its official position.
The concerned agency stated, “the investigation into the case remains ongoing, and detailed information cannot be disclosed at this stage to avoid affecting the inquiry.”
According to the statement, updated information will be shared through an official press briefing after the investigation is completed and the report is submitted to the court.
The CID also called on news organisations to rely only on official press releases or statements from authorised spokespersons when reporting on developments related to the case.
The clarification follows reports published a day earlier claiming that investigators had prepared a draft chargesheet after more than a decade of investigation. Those reports, citing unnamed CID sources, said the document named 64 individuals and organisations allegedly linked to the case.
The ‘Bangladesh Bank reserve theft’ remains one of the country’s most significant financial crimes.
In February 2016, cybercriminals stole 101 million US dollars from Bangladesh Bank’s account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The attackers used fraudulent payment instructions transmitted through the SWIFT international banking network to transfer the funds. Authorities later recovered 34.6 million dollars of the stolen money, while efforts to trace and recover the remaining amount continue.
Forty days after the incident came to light, Bangladesh Bank filed a case with Motijheel Police Station under the Money Laundering Prevention Act. The CID has been responsible for investigating the matter since the beginning.
More than ten years after the cyber heist shocked the global financial sector, the case remains under investigation, with authorities yet to submit a final report before the court.
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