Which 2016 bank heist used fraudulent SWIFT messages to target Bangladesh Bank?

The 2016 bank heist that used fraudulent SWIFT messages to target Bangladesh Bank was the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist.

Attackers compromised Bangladesh Bank’s systems and used the bank’s access to the SWIFT financial messaging network to send payment instructions. In February 2016, they attempted to transfer nearly $1 billion from the bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Most requests were stopped, but about $81 million was successfully transferred to accounts in the Philippines.

A spelling error in one transfer request helped raise suspicion and contributed to the cancellation of additional payments. The stolen money moved through Philippine financial institutions and casinos, making recovery difficult. Investigations by private researchers and government agencies later linked the operation to the Lazarus Group, which is widely associated with North Korea.

SWIFT messages instruct institutions about transfers; SWIFT itself does not hold the money in customer accounts. The incident therefore combined compromised local systems, fraudulent instructions, and weaknesses in the surrounding banking process.