Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said the probe report on Bangladesh Bank reserve heist is not being made public because a case is pending with a court in the Philippines.

“The probe report will not be published any time soon as a case is ongoing in the Philippines,” he told reporters after attending a seminar on medical waste management organised by Sylhet City Corporation in Sylhet.

Unknown cyber criminals made off with $81 million via an account at the New York Federal Reserve.

The money was transferred to four accounts with fake names at one RCBC (Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation) branch in Manila.

Muhith said RCBC has already said that it would not refund the money.

“So, if we publish the report, it may do more harm than good,” he said.

Following the heist, the government formed a three-member investigation committee headed by former BB governor Mohammed Farashuddin.

The probe body submitted its preliminary report to Muhith in April and the final report on May 30 last year. Since then, Muhith on several occasions pledged to publish it.

In July last year, the minister even told in parliament that the probe report on the heist will be made public within the “next few days”. The report was even scheduled to go online on the finance ministry's website last year.

Of the $81 million that ended up in the Philippines, Bangladesh has so far got back $15 million.

When asked whether steps will be taken against those who have been named in the Panama Papers, Muhith said the investigation is underway, and the Anti-Corruption Commission is seeking further details.

Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, vice-chancellor of the University of Asia Pacific, and Ariful Haque Chowdhury, mayor of Sylhet City Corporation, also spoke.