Bangladesh Bank robbery

Not to be confused with the 2015–2016 SWIFT banking hack.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building

The Bangladesh Bank robbery, also known colloquially as the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist,[1] was a theft that took place in February 2016. Thirty-five fraudulent instructions were issued by security hackers via the SWIFT network to illegally transfer close to US$1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh. Five of the thirty-five fraudulent instructions were successful in transferring US$101 million, with US$81 million traced to the Philippines and US$20 million to Sri Lanka. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York blocked the remaining thirty transactions, amounting to US$850 million, due to suspicions raised by a misspelled instruction.[2] As of 2018, only around US$18 million of the US$81 million transferred to the Philippines has been recovered,[3] and all the money transferred to Sri Lanka has since been recovered. Most of the money transferred to the Philippines went to four personal accounts, held by single individuals, and not to companies or corporations.

  1. ^ "The great Bangladesh cyber heist shows truth is stranger than fiction". Dhaka Tribune. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  2. ^ Schram, Jamie (22 March 2016). "Congresswoman wants probe of 'brazen' $81M theft from New York Fed". New York Post.
  3. ^ Cabalza, Dexter. "Ex-RCBC branch manager free on bail". Philippine Daily Inquirer.