Bangladesh’s central bank chief resigned today after hackers stole over USD 100 million from the nation’s foreign reserves in what is believed to be the world’s biggest ever bank theft that embarrassed the government.
Atiur Rahman, 64, resigned over after a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “He (Rahman) has tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister,” a Premier’s office spokesman told PTI.
Prime Minister’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim said Rahman met Hasina at her office in the morning and handed over his resignation, seven years after he was appointed as the Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
During his tenure, Rahman, a development economist, launched a series of populist policies to take bank services to the doorstep of millions of rural people in Bangladesh.
Earlier in the morning, an emotional and apparently distressed Rahman told newsmen he was ready to quit for the sake of the country.
His resignation came weeks after the central bank confirmed that the huge amount was stolen from its account in Federal Reserve Bank of New York, sparking a worldwide uproar.
Bank spokesman had said that unknown hackers had stolen USD 101 million of which USD 81 million entered the Philippines and the rest went to Sri Lanka to be used in casino business.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith had earlier said he was kept in the dark about the heist for weeks, adding that the central bank management must explain its “audacity”. “He (Rahman) called me yesterday when I asked him to resign...And he has resigned today,” Muhith briefly told newsmen.
He said that the government today decided to appoint former finance secretary and incumbent chairman of state-run Sonali Bank, Fazle Kabir, as the new Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB). “Fazle Kabir is now in New York...He will join as the central bank governor office next week,” the minister said.
The heist took place on the night of February 4, using information stolen through the malware, which sent a total of 35 transfer orders to the New York Federal Reserve Bank where the Bangladesh’s central bank has an account.
Reports said the hackers misspelled the name of a Sri Lankan non-governmental organisation, triggering a check of the request which raised the alarm.