Fire at Bangladesh central bank under control

DHAKA (REUTERS) - A fire that broke out in Bangladesh's central bank on Thursday night (March 23) on floors 13 and 14 of the 32-storey building has been brought under control.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

"Twelve units of the fire fighting department controlled (the fire) after several hours of efforts," a fire department official said.

"Those floors are very important as those floors deal with foreign exchange policy and also monitor activities of banks inside the country," an official of the bank said.

The central bank of Bangladesh drew global attention last year when hackers tried to steal about US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and ultimately got away with US$81 million.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation believes North Korea is responsible for the heist, an official briefed on its probe of the incident told Reuters.

A committee has been formed to find out the cause and whether it had any link with the heist, a senior official of the central bank said.

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