The Bangladesh Bank, which is the central bank of the country, has conducted its own investigations but it seems it has claimed that the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) of the Philippines is involved in a heist. It is unlikely that any banking institution worth its salt is going to take such an allegation lying down, and it has now emerged that the RCBC has filed a defamation suit against Bangladesh Bank.

It has emerged that the money that was stolen from the Bangladesh Bank accounts were wired to accounts held at RCBC and following that the trail vanished, as it was apparently sent to casinos in the Philippines. The RCBC has called the allegations from the Bangladesh Bank as a vicious attack that has sullied their reputation in the world of banking. The bank is claiming $1.9 million in damages. The court case was filed on the 6^th of March, but it was today that RCBC released a statement regarding the matters. The bank stated, “Bangladesh Bank has embarked on a massive ploy and scheme to extort money from plaintiff RCBC by resorting to public defamation, harassment and threats geared towards destroying RCBC’s good name, reputation, and image.” RCBC has alleged that Bangladesh Bank is simply trying to get out of them, that they do not have.

Bangladesh Bank has been trying to recoup the money ever since the heist took place and they have been assisted in their efforts by both SWIFT as well as the US Federal Reserve. However, the allegations against RCBC from Bangladesh Bank have intensified over the past few months. The Federal Reserve Bank has stated in February that it was going to give Bangladesh Bank all the technical assistance, it might need in order to trace the money, and it seems that it has already started bearing fruit. A Manila-based gaming tour operator has handed back $15 million but what would come as a big concern for RCBC is that one of their bank managers has been found guilty of money laundering related to this heist case. The heist remains one of the biggest financial events in the history of Bangladesh, and the country is determined to recoup its money.