Bangladesh Bank on Thursday accorded a reception to honor officials from Pan Asia Banking Corporation (PABC), Sri Lanka, for their vigilance, professionalism, and integrity in preventing a $20 million fraudulent transaction during the 2016 Bangladesh Bank reserve heist incident.
The event was graced by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, the Inspector General of Police and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh.
Top executives from Pan Asia Bank, including the awardees themselves, were also in attendance.
Md Habibur Rahman, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank conveyed his gratitude for playing an exemplary role in preventing a financial breach that could have resulted a significant loss.
Their integrity protected not just monetary assets, but also reinforced the values that bind the global financial community together, he added.
Inspector General of Bangladesh Police Baharul Alam thanked the Sri Lankan Bankers for the due diligence they performed and the help they extended while the investigation team from Bangladesh was there in Sri Lanka.
Governor of Bangladesh Bank Ahsan H Mansur stated: “This ceremony goes beyond the act of recognition. It is a tribute to ethics, prudence, and human values that transcend borders. The decisive action taken by these Sri Lankan officials protected not only Bangladesh’s financial interest but also reinforced global trust in the integrity of the banking system.”
The event also celebrated the enduring partnership between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, emphasizing shared commitments in financial regulation, cybersecurity, and regional cooperation.
In February 2016, the unidentified hackers breached Bangladesh Bank’s systems and stole its credentials for payment transfers. The hackers have then bombarded the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with nearly three dozen requests to move money from Bangladesh Bank’s account held at the Fed to entities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
While four such requests by the hackers to transfer a total of $ 81 million to Philippines went through the fifth amounted to $ 20 million sent to Shalika Foundation – a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) – reached through Pan Asia Bank was held up due to the extreme cautiousness followed by the latter at all times as the nature of the transaction was suspicious.
Pan Asia Bank then alerted the necessary authorities about the suspicious fund transfer which then transpired as a part of bigger hacking involving the Bangladesh central bank. This extreme vigilance of the bank enabled Pan Asia Bank to prevent a nearly $ 1.0 billion in transfers in to different parts of the world by these hackers of moneys belonging to the Bangladesh Central Bank and the New York Fed last year. (Dhaka Tribune/NewsWire)
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