Brazen heist of over US$80m puts focus on the Philippines

Manila

IT is a financial whodunit for the digital era: more than US$80 million of Bangladesh's money vanished last month after it was electronically transferred out of that country's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

As officials around the world search for the money and place blame, the caper is highlighting what looks like a weak point in the global financial system that allowed the money to get by regulators: the murky banking system of the Philippines.