DHAKA,Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s central bank has filed a lawsuit in a New York court against a Philippine bank over the heist of $81 million from its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2016.
Abu Hena Mohd. Rajee Hassan, head of Bangladesh Bank’s Finance Intelligence Unit, told The Associated Press Friday that the case was filed in the Southern District Court of New York against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
Court documents say hackers from North Korea used fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system to steal the money. The money was sent to accounts at the Philippines’ bank and then vanished into the casino industry in the Philippines. The complaint says the funds’ ultimate destination remains unclear.
Bangladesh Bank is seeking the $81 million plus damages and legal costs.
Bangladesh sues Manila-based bank in NY over heist
Bangladesh sues Manila-based bank in NY over heist
- The money was sent to accounts at the Philippines’ bank and then vanished into the casino industry in the Philippines
- Bangladesh Bank is seeking the $81 million plus damages and legal costs
Pakistan slashes power tariff for industries by Rs4.4 per unit to spur growth
- The development comes as Pakistan navigates a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF program
- The reduction in electricity tariffs will allow exporters to offer more competitive prices, increase profits margins
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced a Rs4.4 cut electricity tariffs for industrial consumers, saying the move is aimed at lowering production costs and spurring economic activity in Pakistan.
Sharif made the announcement while addressing businessmen and exporters at a ceremony in Islamabad, at which he presented awards to business figures who made significant contributions to the national economy.
He said the government would devise all future economic policies in consultation with the business community and there was no alternative to export-driven economic growth.
“Four rupees and four paisas per unit are being reduced in electricity tariffs for industry,” the prime minister announced at the ceremony.
“If it were up to me, I would reduce it by another 10 rupees, but my hands are tied.”
The development comes as Pakistan, which has long struggled with boom-bust cycles, seeks to boost foreign investment and increase exports, navigating a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The reduction in electricity tariffs for industrial consumers is expected to lower production costs that will allow exporters to offer more competitive prices in international markets, increase profit margins and encourage higher capacity utilization at factories.
The prime minister announced lowering wheeling charges for industry by Rs9 per unit, noting the country’s economy had stabilized, inflation had come down to single digits and the policy rate stood at 10.5 percent.
In Pakistan, wheeling charges are fees paid by electricity consumers and generators to use the national grid’s transmission and distribution network to move electricity from suppliers to end-users under the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM).
“I think this should help you sell your power to neighboring industries,” he told businesspersons at the event.
