The top
management of Bangladesh Bank may see changes as the fallout of the
theft of $101 million from its foreign reserves, Finance Minister AMA
Muhith has hinted.
“We are going to make a major decision,” he told reporters at the secretariat after the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday.
The minister made the comment in response to a query whether the government would take any action against the BB.
On Sunday,
Muhith publicly vented his anger on the BB for keeping him in the dark
for more than a month about the cyber theft, and said he would take
action against the BB.
The minister also said he was very unhappy the way the BB handled the matter.
When journalists yesterday asked him what the major decision would be, Muhith said, “Definitely, there will be a major change.”
He then said the decision would be made public by 4:00pm yesterday after a meeting with BB Governor Atiur Rahman.
When the
minister made the comment, Atiur was on his way to Dhaka from New Delhi.
The BB governor went to the Indian capital on March 10 to attend a
three-day meeting of the International Monetary Fund.
The BB governor
was supposed to meet Muhith immediately after his arrival. But the
meeting didn't take place as the BB chief was “tired” upon his return
home, said a BB official seeking anonymity.
The BB governor would hold the meeting today, and this was communicated to the minister, said the official.
In the
afternoon, Shahedur Rahman, senior public relations officer of the
finance ministry, told reporters that the finance minister would hold a
press conference at 11:00am today, and brief the media about the reserve
heist.
A BB source said
an emergency meeting of the BB board, which was scheduled for today,
was postponed, as the finance minister would hold a meeting with finance
and banking secretaries -- both members of the BB board -- at 4:00pm
today.
On Sunday,
Banking Secretary Aslam Alam told reporters that the BB board would hold
an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and decide on the next course
of action.
Meanwhile, the
newly appointed Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Iqbal
Mahmud, said they are keeping a close watch on the ongoing
investigations by law enforcement agencies and the BB into the reserve
heist.
“The ACC is an
independent commission. Wherever there is corruption, it will carry out a
probe,” he told reporters in response to the question whether the ACC
would investigate the incident.
The Philippines'
Anti-Money Laundering Council said it is preparing charges against a
number of people allegedly involved in the illegal transfer of more than
$80 million from the BB account with the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Besides,
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Teresita Herbosa called on
the Congress to further strengthen the country's Anti-Money Laundering
Act, reported the Rappler, a news outlet in the Philippines.
Herbosa hoped
the government would be able to recover the $81 million that had been
traced to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and three large
casinos.
"I am sure somehow, some of it will be recovered. I am an optimistic person and I believe in the rule of law,” Herbosa said.
In a press
release yesterday, the Transparency International Bangladesh expressed
concern that the BB board and the government were not immediately
informed about the cyber theft.
