The entire Bangladeshi nation is grateful for the exposé of the heist of $101 million from the Bangladesh Bank’s foreign reserve account in the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which was first reported by the Inquirer.
The Inquirer was first quoted by the vernacular daily Samakal which brought the heist to the attention of Finance Minister Ama Muhith. He was startled to hear the news; Bangladesh Bank Gov. Atiur Rahman had not informed him about it one month further on after the incident.
Atiur kept the heist “top secret” and appeared not to care about the problem as he left for New Delhi to attend a conference of the International Monetary Fund. A development economist, Atiur obviously does not know the intricacies of central banking.
Even after Atiur had returned home, he refused to meet the minister saying he was “tired.” Instead, he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and handed her his resignation letter. He told newsmen that he had no business to meet the finance minister as he was directly appointed by the prime minister.
—RAHMAN JAHANGIR, editorial consultant, The Financial Express (Daily), Dhaka, arjayster@gmail.com