Bangladesh central bank chief quits over US$81m heist

Dhaka

BANGLADESH's central bank chief resigned on Tuesday, the finance minister said, after hackers stole US$81 million from the nation's foreign reserves in an audacious cyber-heist that has hugely embarrassed the government.

"He called me yesterday and I've asked him to resign. And he has resigned today," AMA Muhith told AFP, referring to the Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman.

The theft from an account Bangladesh held with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has raised alarm over the security of the country's foreign exchange reserves of over US$27 billion. The hackers attempted to steal almost US$1 billion and were only prevented …