In February there was an attempted robbery of nearly $1 billion from accounts in the Bangladesh Bank. The government tried to keep it quiet and the finance minister decided not to publicize it. The finance minister has now made it public that $81 million dollars is missing. Many of the thieves managed to end up in the Philippines. On September 19th a regional court in the Philippines order the country's central bank, who received a portion of the stolen money, to return the $15 million. The rest of the money which mostly flowed through the casinos has yet to be retrieved but the Bangladeshi government and Philippines president are working hand and hand to resolve this issue.
There are two different theories of how this could of happen. The first is that there was a possible hack of the SWIFT systems at the Bangladesh Bank and issue transfer orders without the physical presence of a person inside of the central bank. This could be possible and this is how it would work SWIFT covers half of all big cross-border transfers. To issue transfer orders via SWIFT, tight security protocols must be followed including possession of a physical key and long passwords and biometric access control. So with this theory there would have to be people working from the inside to get access to this things.
The second theory which is not liked by the finance ministry or the central bank is that this was at least partly an inside job; a collaboration of hackers and central-bank employees or other individuals who had access to the central bank terminals did the job.
The Bangladesh police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is reckons suspect employees of SWIFT staff and consultants to try to find out what could of happened. They have also tried to speak with Indian and Sri Lankan nationals but that hasn't been successful. The hunt for the robbers continues.
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-economics/21707719-government-claims-publishing-report-would-undermine-efforts-retrieve
A bank losing $1 billion, that's billion with a B, is crazy. Is that the largest international heist in history? And the fact the government tried to cover it up reiterates the currupt practices of some Third World countries. In contrast to the United States there is a commitment to establishing and keeping a high standard of moral ethics. The government has an obligation to inform its people on moves that effect its citizen regardless of significance whether major or minor. This is evident in the Fed's release of its annual financial reports to the public. The report and speech given by Janet Yellen is both recorded and written for public recorded. The US government is a firm believer in transparency. The government tries to achieve this through publications, reports, and transactions to give a sense of openness and accountability. Governments are meant to serve the people, not itself. Hiding information is not a good practice in regards to having the support of its people, but when you hide and lie and get caught the citizens not only lose faith, but won't invest in a corrupt government. I'm curious how impactful the loss of a $1 billion affected Bangeldesh's economy and the global committee. Was it more apparent in the standard of living for the rich or the poor?
ReplyDeleteNot only the success of the heist, but the government's hesitancy to make the crisis public will surely affect Bangladesh's economy. Investment is 34% of Bangladesh's GDP, and this will surely hurt the international and domestic trust in future investment in Bangladesh's economy.
ReplyDelete