Dhaka Court orders confiscation of $81m from RCBC in BB reserve heist

A court here has ordered the confiscation of US$81 million from the Philippines' Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) in connection with the 2016 Bangladesh Bank (BB) reserve heist, said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police.

"The court issued the order last Thursday (18 September) to confiscate the funds held in the RCBC, over nine years after the theft," said Chief of CID Md Sibgat Ullah at a press conference in the city, said a press release.

He said a copy of the court order has been sent to senior officials of RCBC in the Philippines.

The Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka issued the directive under Section 17(2) (7) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, following an application by the CID, the agency said in a statement issued today.

It said its investigations confirmed that RCBC officials, including then-president and CEO Lorenzo Tan, branch manager Maia Santos Deguito of RCBC's Jupiter Branch in Makati City, along with other officials from RCBC's head office and Jupiter Branch, were complicit in opening fictitious accounts through which the stolen funds were funnelled.

Despite an official message from Bangladesh Bank instructing RCBC to stop payment, these officials proceeded to disburse the stolen funds illegally, said the CID.

"Courts in the Philippines have already convicted RCBC officials for their involvement, while the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (central Bank of the Philippines) imposed significant penalties on the bank. On 16 February 2016, RCBC had returned only $68,000 to Bangladesh Bank, which was its first step toward repaying the stolen funds," it added.

The CID said its investigation, based on the evidence, determined that RCBC, as a corporate entity, committed money laundering in line with Section 27 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act.

The Dhaka court ordered that the entire $81 million confiscated from RCBC must be repatriated to the Bangladesh government's treasury, it added.

On 5 February 2016, hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh Bank's accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

Of that, $20 million was routed to Sri Lanka - later recovered after authorities flagged the transactions. The remaining $81 million was funnelled through RCBC accounts in the Philippines and quickly dispersed to casinos and other entities, sparking an international investigation.