Noting that cyber security expert Tanvir Hasan Joha might have been detained for interrogation over the $101 million heist of Bangladesh Bank, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said he was unaware about it.

“I can’t tell you right now whether he was detained as I don’t know it properly. But he might have been detained in the interest of investigation,” he said while talking to reporters before attending a programme at Krishibid Institution in the afternoon.

Asaduzzaman made the remarks when his attention was drawn to the reported kidnapping of Tanvir Hasan Joha.

The Home Minister said a number of law enforcement agencies, including Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), are investigating the BB cyber heist. “The investigation agencies are detaining suspects for interrogation in connection with the incident,” he said.

Family members of Joha claimed that he was picked up from a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Katchukhet area of the city around 1am on Thursday.

They also alleged that several police stations refused to register a general diary in this regard.

The hackers swindled out the amount from the Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last month. The sensational heist surfaced after a Philippines newspaper published a report on it.

UNB/RI