$81m heist: Philippine’s court bins defamation case against BB

A court in the Philippines scrapped a defamation suit filed by Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation against Bangladesh Bank.

RCBC filed the case with the Regional Trial Court in Makati City of Manila on March 6, 2019, accusing BB of wrongly linking it to a $81-million heist committed three years earlier.

The court determined that it didn't have jurisdiction over the defendant, said Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Md Serajul Islam, quoting the verdict released on Monday. 

BB was informed of the verdict on Wednesday, he added.

In February 2019, BB filed a case with a US court, accusing Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) of being involved in a heist in which hackers stole about $81million from the BB's account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The heist happened in 2016. The money slipped into RCBC of the Philippines before it was quickly withdrawn and laundered through casinos.

RCBC filed the defamation suit in March 2019.

In its defamation claim, RCBC said, "It is public knowledge that Bangladesh Bank has embarked on a massive ploy and scheme to extort money from plaintiff RCBC."

RCBC refuted BB's allegation that RCBC had played a premeditated role in the cyber theft.

An official of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit said the defamation suit dismissed by the Philippines court will help BB's legal efforts to recover the stolen money.