Good news: The $81 million stolen from the reserve is finally being returned!

The $81 million that was laundered through RCBC Bank of the Philippines in the much-discussed cyber theft of Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange reserves in 2016 is finally in the process of being returned to Bangladesh. A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of the money.

The court said in its ruling that the money is forfeitable to the Bangladesh government under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012 (amended 2015). According to the order, the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), the country’s central bank, the Ministry of Justice and the Bangladesh Embassy in Manila have been informed of the matter.

In February 2016, hackers transferred about $101 million from a Bangladesh Bank account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York using the SWIFT network. Of this, $20 million was blocked due to a spelling mistake while being sent to Sri Lanka and was later returned to Bangladesh. However, the remaining $81 million was deposited into various fake accounts in the Philippines and laundered through casinos and remittance houses.

Bangladesh Bank and the CID have been investigating this incident for a long time. The agency took 87 times to submit the investigation report, which has also been criticized. Despite this, the court's verdict is finally being seen as a major success for Bangladesh Bank.

However, according to experts, legal procedures will still have to be completed in accordance with the Philippine courts and international banking rules to return the money. Earlier, RCBC Bank found some officials guilty and the bank was also fined a large amount.

In this regard, Bangladesh Bank has expressed hope that if it receives all international cooperation as per the court order, it will be possible to return the money quickly.