The parent company of Manila integrated resort Solaire, Bloomberry Resorts Corp, says a lawsuit brought against it by Bangladesh Bank for allegedly aiding and abetting the loss of US$81 million stolen by hackers in 2016 has been dismissed by a New York Court.
The case was brought against Bloomberry subsidiary Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, Inc, (BRHI) and others, in 2020 alleging conversion, theft and misappropriation; aiding and abetting the same; conspiracy to commit the same; fraud; aiding and abetting and conspiracy to commit fraud; conspiracy to commit trespass against chattels; and unjust enrichment.
The Bangladesh Bank had been looking to recoup at least some of the stolen funds, some of which was previously found to have been transacted and lost through Philippines casinos.
Aside from BRHI and Solaire, defendants named in the case included Midas Hotel & Casino located in the Clark Freeport Zone north of Manila.
In a Monday filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Bloomberry said the New York Court had last week granted its motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Bangladesh Bank for lack of jurisdiction.
The court, Bloomberry said, “Ordered that the defendant Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, Inc.’s motion to dismiss the complaint is granted, and the complaint is dismissed in its entirety as against the defendant, with costs and disbursements to defendant [BRHI] as taxed by the Clerk of the Court, and the Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly in favor of defendant [BRHI].”
The original 2016 incident saw 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 (RCBC) 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.
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