Money laundering charges framed against Dr Yunus, 13 others
Dr Yunus and 13 others, who are currently on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice from the court
A Dhaka court today (12 June) framed charges against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case over the embezzlement of around Tk25 crore from dividends reserved for Grameen Telecom workers.
Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of the Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 read out the charges to the accused, ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain Jahangir told The Business Standard.
During the hearing, all the accused, who are currently on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice from the court, Abdullah Al Mamun, a counsel for Dr Yunus, told journalists.
They also sought exemption from the case, but the court rejected the plea.
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The court fixed 15 July for starting the trial.
On 2 April, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain accepted the Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) charge sheet against Dr Yunus and 13 others in the graft case.
Later, an order for the transfer of the case to Special Judge Court-4 for trial was given.
On 1 February, the investigating officer of the case, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, filed the charge sheet against the 14 individuals in the court.
In May last year, Gulshan Anwar filed the case with the anti-graft body's integrated district office in Dhaka.
Besides Dr Yunus, other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Nazmul Islam, its directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Md Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, representative Md Mainul Islam, Jatiya Sramik Federation Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan, and lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali.
According to the case statement, a decision was made at the company's 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus, on 9 May 2022, to open a bank account with the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank. However, it was found that the account had already been opened a day before the meeting.
Over Tk26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per "fake settlement agreements" and the decision of the board.
However, before distributing the share of the company's profit to the workers and informing them, the accused, in collusion with each other, embezzled about Tk25 crore from the fund.
