Dhaka: Law Minister Anisul Huq on Thursday said that the Philippines’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation has filed its defamation case against Bangladesh Bank to deceive their country’s people.

The minister came up with the remarks after a meeting with Hiroyasu Izumi, ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh, reports the UNB.

‘RCBC officials did not act legally. I am saying this because even the Philippines Government and its Senate blamed the conduct of RCBC officials for facilitating the hack,’ he said.

Earlier on January 2, Bangladesh filed a case against Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) of the Philippines over the heist of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

International robbers stole $101 million from the Bangladesh Bank account with the Federal Reserve Bank through fraudulent instructions against their target of about $1 billion in February 2016.

Responding to another question on what was discussed with the ambassador, the minister said that the envoy came to meet him seeking Bangladesh’s support for a Japanese candidate in the election for justices to the International Court of Justice.

‘I have assured the ambassador that as there is no candidate from Bangladesh this year, we will confirm our support to the Japanese candidate after discussion with the Prime Minister,’ said the minister.

The update of the Holey Artisan case, Bangladesh’s biggest terrorism tragedy in which 7 of the 20 victims were Japanese, was also passed on to the ambassador, said Anisul.

Responding to another question on whether the government plans to conduct court at upazila level, Anisul explained that there is no need for such a move as each upazila has been assigned its dedicate/under himsnsnd judge at the Zila level, who oversees the legal matters for the upazila under him or her there.