Bangladesh Cybertheft Probe: 5 Bank Officials 'Indirect Accomplices'

The head of a Bangladesh government-appointed probe panel said that five Bangladesh Bank officials were "indirect accomplices" in the $81-million cyberheist due to their negligence, according to Reuters. No action has yet been taken against them because the bank wants to keep the findings under wraps, the report says.

Mohammed Farashuddin, former central bank governor, told Reuters: "The committee came to the conclusion that the heist was essentially committed by external elements."

He added that hackers may have exploited loopholes in bank’s network with SWIFT, but SWIFT has denied any negligence on part of its technicians.

An earlier Reuters report identified weaknesses in the bank’s system: namely the absence of a firewall and use of second-hand electronic switches to connect computers with SWIFT.

The stolen money was transferred into Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in the Philippines, from where it vanished into the casino industry. RCBC has rejected compensation claims from Bangladesh.

Only $15 million has been recovered so far.

Read Reuters for full story.