Govt probe panel starts work Sunday

A three-member official probe body on Bangladesh Bank reserve heist will start work formally tomorrow (Sunday), said committee chief Dr Mohammed Farashuddin.
"We will start working Sunday," Mr Farashuddin, also a former governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), told the FE Thursday, without elaborating.
Asked whether the committee members will visit the central bank on the day, he declined to make any comment.
The government formed last Tuesday the three-member committee to investigate the US$101 million heist by hackers.
Other members of the committee are: Dr Mohammad Kaykobad, a professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and additional secretary of Bank and Financial Institution Division (BFID) Gokul Chand Das.
Contacted, Mr Kaykobad told the FE that he received a letter from the government Wednesday, but the committee was yet to get down to doing its job.
"The issue is very important. We have a big foreign-currency reserve. We must be worried about it," he said.
Sources said the committee members Wednesday contacted the central bank officials and talked on various issues relating to the investigation. Committee chief Mr. Farashuddin also contacted the central bank the same day.
In the notification of committee formation the BFID said the committee was assigned to investigate how the illegal payment instructions were made from BB and to whom, the adequacy of steps taken by the central bank to stop illegal payments, and the rationality of concealing the information of the US$101 million heist from higher authority by BB bosses.
Besides, the body has been asked to probe whether any BB official was involved in the trans-border hacking or they showed reluctance in performing responsibly, the possibility of recovery of  the stolen money, adequacy of measures taken, and steps to prevent recurrence of such incident.
The committee will have to submit an interim report within 30 days of its formation and a full report in 75 days.
The probe panel is vested with power to take advice from specialists and the government can co-opt additional members onto the committee, if necessary, said an announcement made by the BFID.
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