Image Credits - Mathrubhumi English
A Dhaka court today granted bail to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and 13 other accused individuals in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from Grameen Telecom’s Workers’ Profit Participation Fund.
The order was passed by Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka after the accused, including Yunus, filed petitions seeking bail in the case. The court also set June 2 as the date for holding a hearing on the framing of charges against the accused.
The case revolves around the alleged misappropriation of approximately 25.22 crore Taka (approximately $2.5 million) from the Grameen Telecom Workers’ Profit Participation Fund. On April 2, the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka accepted the charges pressed against the 14 accused, which included Yunus, the founder of the renowned Grameen Bank.
The investigation into the case was conducted by Gulshan Anwar Prodhan, a deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). On February 1, Prodhan submitted the charge sheet before the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka, paving the way for the legal proceedings to move forward.
In addition to Yunus, the other accused individuals named in the case are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Nazmul Islam, Directors Ashraful Hassan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, M Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, representative Mainul Islam, Jatiya Workers Federation Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan, and lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali.
The case was originally filed on May 30, 2022, by Gulshan Anwar with the ACC’s integrated district office in Dhaka, after the anti-corruption watchdog approved the charge sheet.
The allegations of misappropriation of funds from the workers’ profit participation fund have drawn significant attention, given Yunus’s international stature as a pioneer in the field of microfinance and his Nobel Peace Prize recognition in 2006.
As the legal proceedings continue, the court’s decision to grant bail to Yunus and the other accused individuals is seen as a temporary respite, allowing them to continue their defence against the charges. However, the case itself remains a high-profile matter, with potential implications for Grameen Bank and the broader microfinance sector in Bangladesh.