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Finance Minister AMA Muhith expressed the hope Tuesday that the stolen money would be retrieved from the Philippines, without specifying any timeframe, as a high-level meeting reviewed the latest developments with the central bank. "Of course, the money will return. No one can hold the stolen money," he told newsmen after the meeting, held at Bangladesh secretariat. Law Minister Anisul Huq, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry Dr Abdur Razzaque, Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir and attorney-general Mahbubey Alam, among others, attended the meeting. The meeting was held against the backdrop of a fire incident in the central bank, virtually no progress in recovery of the stolen reserves, and the theft of 34,000 euros from Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi by hacking e-mail account. However, meeting sources could not confirm whether the issue of the stealing of money from the Deputy High Commission was discussed or not. Replying to a query Mr Muhith said the Philippine government is helping in the drive for recovering the money stolen by new-era cyber-bandits. The minister also allayed fear over security lapses in the central bank. "No. Since 2008 the security system is being revised. The security system expired in 2013. Now it is under replacement," he told the press in reply to another query. Mr Muhith termed last week's fire in the foreign currency-related section of the central bank an unimportant issue. In February last year, cybercriminals stole US$101 million from Bangladesh Bank's account with the US Federal Reserve Bank. Nearly $20 million of it was recovered from Sri Lanka. In November last year $15 million was also recovered from the Philippines while $66 million was reported to have been squandered through gaming in casinos there. Last month, Mr Muhith told newsmen that the government was considering alternative ways to bring back the rest of the reserves which remained stuck in the Philippines. "Many days have already passed…," he said about the rugged recovery process. In the recent months the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) of the Philippines reportedly was not cooperating in Bangladesh efforts to recover the money rather blaming Bangladesh Bank officials for the most dramatic cyber-heist ever in the world. The company lawyer said the RCBC was not liable for the heist and it would not pay Bangladesh any money. The RCBC bank also demanded publishing the report on the probe conducted by Bangladesh government after the incident. Mr Muhith declined to make the report public, with others now, citing it as an 'internal report'. In a latest twist to the intercontinental cybercrime, reports said the US authorities aired suspicion about another Asian country's complicity in the skimming of Fed account code and the heist.                 syful-islam@outlook.com....

Published at: 2017-03-29 00:00:03

Twenty five students of Development Studies Department of Dhaka University (DU) on Tuesday received scholarships in two categories for their outstanding academic results. Twenty students were awarded 'Governor Scholarship' while five others 'Professor Asaduzzaman Memorial Scholarship', said a press release. DU Vice-Chancellor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique handed over the scholarships to the students as the chief guest at a programme at Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium in Social Science Building. Prof Dr Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of Prof Dr M Asaduzzaman Foundation, presided over the meeting while former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman, chairman of Development Studies Department Prof Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf were, among others, present at the programme.....

Published at: 2017-03-29 00:00:03

Police have cordoned off two houses at Fatehpur village and Barohat in Sadar upazila of Moulvibazar, suspecting those to be militant hideouts. "Police cordoned off the houses around 4:00am on Wednesday," said officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station Wakil Ahmed. He said members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and firefighters also joined the police; according to UNB.....

Published at: 2017-03-29 00:00:03

Proper coordination among the local government, government and non-governmental organisations is crucial for building a middle income nation by 2021 through successful implementation of development activities. The opinion came at a views-sharing meeting, organised by Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) in its conference room. The meeting focused on properly coordinating development activities being conducted by different NGOs for backward communities in Rangpur city. Mayor of Rangpur Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu attended the meeting as the chief guest, according to BSS.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-28 00:00:05

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir went to Singapore for medical treatment on Sunday night, reports UNB. Fakhrul left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Singapore in a flight of Singapore Airlines around 11:55 pm, BNP chairperson's media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan said on Monday.....

Published at: 2017-03-28 00:00:05