BB reserve heist: Philippines identify 2 Chinese

Prothom Alo24 Desk

DHAKA: Two Chinese businessman had allegedly brought the $81 million stolen funds from the Bank of Bangladesh into the Philippine financial system, junket operator Kim Wong, also known as Kam Sin Wong, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Wong identified the two as Shuhua Gao and Ding Zhize during the ongoing investigation of the Senate blue ribbon committee on Tuesday.

Wong said Gao has been a junket agent for almost eight years now, while Ding, a businessman from Macau, was introduced to him by Gao.

Wong said Gao borrowed P450 million from him after incurring big losses at a casino in Solaire.

Last month hackers got away with one of the biggest heists in history in a scheme involving the Bangladesh central bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

They stole legitimate login credentials from Bangladeshi officials and, in a barrage of transfer requests, convinced the New York Fed to transfer money from the Bangladesh account in New York to another account, known as “the Shalika Foundation,” in Sri Lanka.

The hackers would have made away with nearly $1 billion had they not spelled “foundation” as “fandation,” triggering warnings from the New York Fed.

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FBI break into dead gunman’s iPhone

Prothom Alo24 Desk

DHAKA: The FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman without Apple’s help.

Apple had been resisting a court order issued last month requiring the firm to write new software to allow officials to access Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone.

But officials on Monday said that it had been accessed independently and asked for the order to be withdrawn, reports the BBC.

Farook and his wife killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, in December.

They were later shot dead by police.

The FBI said it needed access to the phone's data to determine if the attackers worked with others, were targeting others and were supported by others.

US officials said Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, had pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State on social media on the day of the shooting.

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EgyptAir plane hijacked, forced to land in Cyprus

Prothom Alo24 Desk:

DHAKA: An EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, state radio said.

The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 people were on board, with a crew of seven.

There were earlier reports of about 80 to 81 people on board.

The aircraft had taken off from Alexandria at 8am local time, reported CNN Greece.

At least one man was thought to be armed.

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