The Bangladesh Bank robbery, colloquially known as the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist, occurred in February 2016. Here are the key details:
- What Happened?: Security hackers issued 35 fraudulent instructions via the SWIFT network to illegally transfer nearly US$1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.
- Successful Transfers: Five of these fraudulent instructions successfully transferred US$101 million. Of this, US$81 million was traced to the Philippines, and US$20 million to Sri Lanka.
- Blocked Transactions: The remaining thirty transactions, totaling US$850 million, were blocked by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York due to suspicions raised by a misspelled instruction.
- Recovery: Only around US$18 million of the amount transferred to the Philippines has been recovered, while all the money transferred to Sri Lanka has been fully recovered.
- Background: Bangladesh Bank maintains an account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to handle foreign currency reserves. The SWIFT network facilitates communication for currency withdrawals, transfers, and deposits.
- Similar Attacks: This cyber attack wasn’t the first; in 2013, the Sonali Bank of Bangladesh was also targeted using similar methods.
- Insider Involvement: Suspected insiders within the targeted banks may have aided the hackers by exploiting weaknesses in SWIFT access.
Despite the challenges, efforts to enhance security continue, and the Bangladesh Bank remains vigilant against such threats.
