The Bangladesh Bank is scheduled to file a case with a US court early this morning (BST) over a $101-million heist from its funds with Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The case will be lodged against the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and other beneficiaries from the cyber theft.
Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan, head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligent Unit (BFIU) of the BB, said the last-minute scrutiny was going on to file the case.
He talked to the BB team staying in the United States around 8:15 pm on Wednesday.
"The case would probably be filed in the last hour of the day in the NY. In Bangladesh time, it could be early hours of Thursday," he told the FE.
Meanwhile, BB governor Fazle Kabir at a press briefing on Wednesday after announcing a monetary policy statement for the second half of fiscal year 2018-19 said a team is currently visiting New York and consulting the matter with the BB's legal firm in the US to this effect.
"Preparations are all set and the case will be filed with the federal court for the Southern District of New York by January 30 NY time," Mr Kabir stated.
He said the BB signed a resolution and assistance agreement with the NY Fed last Tuesday to support each other until the recovery of all stolen money.
When asked how much compensation the BB will claim, he said, "You (reporters) will know the detail soon after the return of our team on February 02."
Regarding the delay in taking legal action, Mr Kabir said the issue involves many factors that need to be analysed fully before going for a court case.
"It's a time-consuming matter. We did all the things," he told the media.
About the administrative probe report by the Mohammad Farashuddin-led committee, Mr Kabir said the report was submitted in May 2016.
But before that, the BB filed a case here under the anti-money laundering act.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was tasked with investigating the matter which is yet to be finished, he said.
"The government might think the administrative probe report might hamper the CID's main investigation. It could be a reason and we've nothing to do here."
Of the total $101 million, $81 million was transferred to four accounts at the RCBC in the Philippines and the other $20 million to a bank in Sri Lanka.
But the transfer of $20 million to Sri Lanka failed because of a spelling error by the hackers.
Later, the BB was able to retrieve about $15 million from Manila.
Currently, $66.0 million, or more than 60 per cent of the stolen money, in one of the largest cyber heists of the world still remains out of recovery.
The BB move came weeks after a regional court of the Philippines held a former branch manager of RCBC guilty on eight counts of money laundering, the first conviction in the cyber fraudulence.
The court sentenced Maia Santos Deguito to different jail terms-each count carrying four to seven years.
She was also ordered to pay $109 million in fines.
Meanwhile, according to a report by ABS-CBN News from Manila, the RCBC on Wednesday said it welcomes the complaint the Bangladesh Bank will reportedly lodge against it over a 2016 heist that funneled some $81-million in stolen funds through one of its Makati branches,
The Philippines' 10th largest bank said it was "a victim of what was started in Bangladesh by still unnamed persons."
"RCBC is ready to face Bangladesh Bank (BB) in court. In fact, RCBC has engaged a top tier NY (New York) law firm to handle RCBC's defense," it said in a statement.
RCBC said that it had provided Philippine Senate hearings all information allowed by local laws, but the Bangladesh Bank refused to "release its full and complete findings almost three years after the fact."
"We hope BB can be as transparent and stop blaming everybody but itself. The complaint will allow us to finally get the information we, and the Philippine government, have been asking BB to provide," the lender said in a statement.
Unidentified hackers transferred some $81-million to fictitious accounts in RCBC after they stole the amount from Bangladesh Bank's account with the New York Federal Reserve in 2016.
The money was later shifted to casino accounts and Bangladeshi authorities have recovered at least $15 million.
RCBC was fined a record P1 billion by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas over the heist.
Maia Santos Deguito, manager of the branch where the accounts were funneled into, was convicted of money laundering in connection with the caper. She was sentenced to 4 to 7 years in prison for each of the 8 counts and was fined a total of $109 million.
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