Chargesheet against Dr Yunus, 13 others accepted

A Dhaka court accepted the chargesheet against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case filed over the embezzlement of around Tk25 crore from dividends reserved for Grameen Telecom workers.

Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka accepted the chargesheet on Tuesday (April 2).

The court also transferred the case to Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-4 and fixed May 2 for next hearing in the case.

Earlier on February 1, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Gulshan Anwar, also the investigation officer of the case, filed chargesheet before the court against Grameen Telecom Chairman Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in the case filed for embezzling Tk25 crore from the fund reserved for the workers.

The anti-graft body on January 29 approved the chargesheet filed against Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Telecom Managing Director Nazmul Islam, directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Md Kamruzzaman and General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, office secretary Qamrul Islam, lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Md Yusuf Ali and representative Md Mainul Islam.

The ACC on May 30, 2023, filed the case with its Dhaka-1 integrated district office.

According to the case documents, a decision was made on the company’s 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus on May 9, 2022, to open a bank account at Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank Limited. But it was found that the account was opened a day before the decision was even made.

More than Tk26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per “fake settlement agreements” and decision of the board. But before even distributing the share of the company’s profit to the workers, and letting them know, the accused embezzled around Tk25 crore from the fund.