BNP questions govt actions for finding BB heist culprits

BNP yesterday expressed dissatisfaction at the government's action following the stealing of money from Bangladesh Bank's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Asserting that there must have been involvement of insiders in the hacking leading to the heist, the party demanded interrogation of the central bank officials, particularly those who knew the passwords to access the account.

An uproar has been created in the Philippines after the heist, said BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury. "But we have not seen any effective step in Bangladesh."

Khasru, an adviser to the BNP chairperson, made the remarks at a press conference at party chief's office in the capital, where the party presented an analysis on the $101 million heist last month. He said the people wanted to know what steps the government had taken regarding the matter.

"The government cannot avoid its responsibility for the incident. It can't give any satisfactory explanation of the looting," said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.   

Presenting the analysis, BNP executive member Shama Obayed said it was impossible to access the BB account without the help of the bank officials, who knew the passwords. Quoting Shane Shook, a security consultant who investigated some of the biggest cyber crimes, she said, "It takes somebody from the inside who have deep knowledge of the bank's internal protocol." Matt Bishop, a computer science professor from California, participated in the conference through Skype.