BNP Standing Committee member ASM Hannan Shah has demanded immediate resignation of the government over the cyber heist at Bangladesh's central bank last month that netted some $100 million.
Referring to the resignation of Atiur Rahman, he said: "Not only the Bangladesh Bank governor, but also the prime minister, finance minister and others involved should resign for the theft of a large money reserve from Bangladesh Bank."
The BNP leader made the observation while talking to reporters after a visit to Engineers Institution in the capital, as a venue for BNP’s upcoming national council, on Tuesday, soon after Atiur Rahman announced his resignation.
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The BNP leader also demanded a judicial inquiry into the financial scandal to punish the culprits.
Expressing doubts about the amount of the stolen money, Hannan said: “As per the information I have, the money is not Tk800 crore, it is over $800 million. Why did the governor alone take responsibility for the incident? There is a minister and governor over him."
“If this was a sporadic incident, then the governor may have been blamed. But, the governor alone cannot be blamed now,” he added.
If the bank’s deputy governor and general manager were patriotic, this incident might not have taken place. “Who are they? Identify them,” he further said.
The BNP leader also said the theft is impossible without inside involvement of Bangladesh Bank officials.
“I have seen a list of Bangladesh bank officials. Friends in the media will check this list. The theft could not have happened without the involvement of some Bangladesh Bank officials. The government should resign for this,” he said.