Bangladesh Authorities Identify 20 Suspects In Cyber Theft

The hackers breached Bangladesh Bank’s systems between the 4th and 5th of February and tried to steal nearly $1 billion from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Another $20 million was sent to a company in Sri Lanka but the transfer was reversed because the hackers misspelled the name of the firm, raising a red flag at the routing bank.

Support from police in Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Bangladesh and also the FBI has been received to conduct the investigation.

Bangladeshi investigators have identified 20 foreigners – eight Sri Lankans and 12 Philippine nationals – suspected to have been involved in the cyber heist of tens of millions of dollars from its’ central bank.

A Bangladeshi police officer gave no other details, but the suspects appear to be those who received some of the payments, and not the hackers.

Most of the payments were blocked but $81 million was routed to accounts in the Philippines and diverted to casinos there.