Bangladesh Bank has filed an appeal to a US court following the dismissal last month of a civil claim against a number of individuals and Philippines companies, including a subsidiary of Solaire Resort & Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp, regarding the 2016 theft of US$81 million by hackers.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the United States District Court, Southern District of New York granted in March the defendants’ joint motion to dismiss for failure to state a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claim or RICO conspiracy claim.
The case relates to the infamous incident in which North Korean hackers issued 35 fraudulent instructions to transfer almost US$1 billion from Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The US bank blocked the majority of those but not before five transactions worth a combined US$101 million were processed.
Bangladesh Bank eventually recouped US$20 million traced to Sri Lanka, however US$81 million transferred to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in the Philippines was transacted and lost, partially through casinos, including Solaire, where some of the funds were used to purchase gaming chips and play in junket rooms.
Bangladesh Bank’s appeal has been filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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