Muhith: Hearing in New York over reserve heist

A hearing may be held in New York over the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist, the finance minister has said on Sunday. AMA Muhith was speaking at a National Mourning Day event at the central bank headquarters on Sunday. However, the minister did not elaborate on this matter. Sources in the Finance Ministry could not immediately provide any details on the issue either. The finance minister will be at New York from September 25 to October 11 for the annual World Bank-IMF meetings. Muhith warned that nobody will be spared if found involved with corruption in the banking sector. Referring to the corruption in the state-owned banks Sonali and BASIC, Muhith said: “Although the financial situation of these two banks have worsened, the overall health of the banking sector is good.” He suggested that Bangladesh Bank should reduce the number of its outside consultants. When asked about the progress in recovering the stolen reserve money, Muhith replied that a Bangladesh Bank team was in the Philippines co-coordinating the process of recovering a portion of the money.