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Monday, February 5, 2018

2 YEARS OF RESERVE HEIST - Not a penny recovered in last 12 months

Shakhawat Hossain


Bangladesh Bank could not bring back a single penny from Philippines in the last 12 months as the incident of country’s reserve theft enters into the third year today (Monday).

The central bank, since the unprecedented reserve heist by suspected hackers in February 5, 2015, was able to return only $14.55 million from Manila in November 2016. 

Since then there has been no success in bringing back the remaining $66.45 million which made the experts suspicious about the reserve recovery efforts by a taskforce, led by financial institutions division secretary, and frequent visits by BB and other government officials in Manila.

Moreover, a probe report on reserve theft, submitted by former BB governor Mohammad Farashuddin in May 2016, has not been made public yet by finance minister AMA Muhith despite repeated commitments during the past one and a half years.

Talking to New Age on Saturday, BB deputy governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, however, claimed that reserve recovery efforts were on the right track. 

Noting that stolen money recovery process was lengthy and time consuming, he said initiatives on the basis of mutual understanding and legal ways were continuing.

A team comprising police and BB officials was now in Manila as part of the efforts to recover $8.2 million while the BB was awaiting settlement of legal process launched by the anti-money laundering unit of Philippines at the request of the BB, he said.

A senior finance ministry official said the taskforce constituted in April 2016 for recovering of the reserve fund met last time in August 2017. But, he said, there was little progress as regards the taskforce’s recommendations that include taking assistance from China and filing cases against Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Financial Institutions Division secretary Eunusur Rahman, who heads the taskforce, said scope of filing cases by the attorney general against Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, main accused of the reserve heist, would remain valid until February 2019.

He said he would convene a meeting shortly to review the recommendations they made during the previous meeting to expedite the money recovery process. 

Experts noted that the government agencies failed to keep pressure on Philippines for returning the stolen fund as the initiatives were marked by ‘lack of coordination’ and ‘weakness’.

Former BB governor Saheluddin Ahmed said that not making the probe report public exposed serious weakness of the government.

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive director Iftrekharuzzaman noted that fund recovery efforts faced serious setback after Manila urged Dhaka to share the probe report on the BB reserve theft during a visit by a delegation, led by law minister Anisul Haq, in Philippines in December, 2016.

The government officials in Dhaka refused to share the findings of the probe report with Manila saying that it was an internal report. 
Besides, the BB also expressed reservation in making the report public. 

  • Courtesy: New Age/Feb 5, 2018

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