SWIFT announces support for Bangladesh Bank after the biggest cyber-theft in the world

The international payment network SWIFT announced Saturday it has signed an agreement with the central bank of Bangladesh to help rebuild its infrastructure after hackers have used it to steal 81 million dollars (297 million dirhams ) in 2016 in the biggest cyber-flight in the world.

Unidentified hackers, suspected of being from North Korea, have broken the Bangladesh Bank's systems and used the SWIFT network to send fraudulent transfer orders to the US central bank's New York branch. with which Dhaka Bank has an account.

SWIFT's comments come after the New York Fed agreed on Friday to provide "technical badistance" to Bangladesh Bank in its lawsuit against Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking (RCBC). RCBC had the habit of channeling this money, which has largely disappeared in the Philippines casinos.

CBBC called Bangladesh Bank's lawsuit Thursday outside US jurisdiction, "completely groundless" and "nothing more than a thinly veiled public relations campaign" for to blame each other.

"SWIFT, the New York Fed and Bangladesh Bank have been working together since the advent of cyber fraud (…) to recover the entire proceeds of crime and bring the perpetrators to justice, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions, "SWIFT told a statement to Reuters.

The cabinet will continue to support international efforts to protect the global financial system from cyberattacks, he added.

SWIFT – the company for global interbank telecommunications worldwide, a cooperative used by thousands of financial institutions around the world – has not clarified whether this would also help the Bangladesh Bank in the lawsuit in the court of New York.

A person familiar with the technical badistance agreement said the Fed would prepare affidavits, allow employees to testify at hearings or a trial, and would also authorize Bangladesh Bank to interview employees. It would also provide relevant non-privileged documents and information to Bangladesh Bank or the court.

Ajmalul Hossain, a lawyer for Bangladesh Bank, declined to comment on SWIFT's role in the lawsuit against RCBC.

In its lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Manhattan, Bangladesh Bank has accused RCBC and dozens of others, including several senior executives, of being involved in a "mbadive" and "planned" plot spreading over several years to steal his money.

An investigation by Reuters on the robbery in 2016 revealed that a series of missteps and communication problems between the Fed and Bangladesh, little emergency relief and slow reactions in New York facing the warning signs have also contributed.