Dhaka to investigate fraud charges against Yunus and telecom board
BANGLADESH has launched a corruption probe into Nobel peace prize winner and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus over accusations of embezzlement at a telecoms firm he chairs, the country’s graft watchdog said last Thursday (28).
Yunus, 82, has been feted internationally for his efforts to eradicate poverty, but his reputation at home has been tarnished by a labour dispute and a long-running feud with prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Anti-Corruption Commission said it was investigating the
economist and other members of the Grameen Telecom (GT) board over allegations they had embezzled a share of profits meant for the firm’s employees.
“The commission has reviewed the allegation made by the factory inspection department against Grameen Telecom and has decided to investigate,” agency secretary Md Mahbub Hossain told reporters.
The telco’s board is also accused of laundering and embezzling 29.77 billion taka (£258 million) and stealing another $5m (£4.1m) that was meant for a labour welfare fund.
Bangladeshi labour law requires all enterprises to give a five per cent profit share to employees. There was no immediate comment from Yunus.
The probe comes just months after GT agreed to pay $50m (£41m) to settle a long-running legal dispute by disgruntled employees, who had filed more than 100 lawsuits claiming they had been deprived of the payments.
Yunus is the founding chair of Grameen Telecom, which owns a multi-billion dollar stake in Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone operator.
He has been credited with helping eradicate extreme poverty in Bangladesh by offering microfinance loans to tens of millions of rural women through Grameen Bank, which he founded in the 1980s.
He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting economic development.
But despite his status as a global celebrity speaker, Yunus has faced a series of troubles at home in recent years.
He was forced from his position as Grameen Bank’s managing director in 2011 in a move his supporters blamed on conflict with prime minister Hasina.
Yunus lost a challenge to his removal in the courts and was criticised by Hasina, who accused him of “sucking blood” from the poor with high interest rates.
Hasina has also blamed Yunus for a decision by the World Bank to cancel a planned $1.2 billion (984m) loan for a bridge near the capital Dhaka.
Yunus has consistently denied influencing the lender’s decision on the project, which became embroiled in a bribery scandal.
The bridge finally opened last month after years of construction delays, and Hasina said Yunus should be “dipped in a river” for jeopardising its completion.