CID rejects reports on draft chargesheet in Bangladesh Bank reserve heist case

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has distanced itself from media reports claiming that a draft chargesheet has been prepared in the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist case, saying the information attributed to its officials was not provided by the agency. 

In a statement issued today (19 June), the CID said, "The information published in those reports regarding a draft chargesheet, citing CID officials, was not provided to any media outlet by any CID officer."

The agency urged the public and media not to treat the reported claims as the CID's official position. 

The CID said the case remains under investigation and that it is not possible to disclose detailed information at this stage in the interest of the probe. 

After the investigation is completed and the report is submitted to the court, the CID will provide updated information through a press briefing, the statement added. 

The agency also requested media organisations to rely on official CID press releases or statements from its spokesperson when reporting on the case. 

The clarification came a day after media reports, citing CID sources, claimed that investigators had prepared a draft chargesheet in the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist case after a probe spanning more than a decade. 

According to those reports, the draft chargesheet named 64 individuals and entities in connection with one of the country's biggest financial scandals. 

The case involves the theft of $101 million from Bangladesh Bank's reserve account with the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, US, in February 2016, of which $34.6 million was later recovered.

Hackers siphoned off the funds by sending fraudulent payment instructions via the SWIFT system. 

Forty days after the incident, the central bank lodged a case at Motijheel Police Station under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, and the CID has been investigating it from the inception.