A Dhaka court has formally charged Nobel Laureate economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a money laundering case. The Special Judge Court -4 issued the order on Wednesday, setting the stage for the trial to begin.
Dr. Yunus, along with the other accused, appeared in court, professing their innocence and seeking justice. The court has scheduled 15 July for recording witness depositions.
The charges stem from an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation, which in February, implicated Dr. Yunus and 13 others in the embezzlement of Tk 252.2 million from Grameen Telecom employees. The accused include Nazmul Islam, managing director of Grameen Telecom; former managing director Ashraful Hasan; directors Parveen Mahmud, Nazneen Sultana, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, and SM Hajjatul Islam Latifi; lawyers Md Yusuf Ali and Zafrul Hasan Sharif; Grameen Telecom Workers Union president Kamruzzaman; general secretary Feroz Mahmud Hasan; labor union representative Mainul Islam; and National Labour Federation secretary Kamrul Hasan.
The ACC’s investigation revealed that the accused illegally transferred Tk 252 million from the company’s funds, which constitutes a violation of the Money Laundering Prevention Act. The incident traces back to a 9 May 2022 Grameen Telecom board meeting, where it was decided to open a bank account for profit sharing with employees. This decision was executed by opening an account at Dhaka Bank’s Gulshan branch.
The controversy arises from an agreement signed on 27 April 2022 between the workers’ union and Grameen Telecom, stating the bank account was opened on 8 May—a discrepancy the ACC claims indicates document forgery. The ACC reported that Tk 4.37 billion was transferred to this account on 10 May 2022, and the dividends meant for employees were embezzled instead.
Dr. Yunus’s lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamun, defended the transactions, stating that a negotiation with employees led to an advance payment of Tk 250 million for legal expenses, backed by written employee consent. He argued that the specific details in the agreement were left blank due to delays in opening the bank account, which was later filled in consensually.
The case follows numerous lawsuits filed by 176 Grameen Telecom employees, seeking their dividends. After negotiations, the lawsuits were withdrawn in May 2022, but the ACC’s subsequent charges described the payments as embezzlement.
Mamun also pointed out that the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) had initially raised the issue, but their involvement was questioned by Dr. Yunus, leading to the ACC’s expedited charge sheet submission. This, he claimed, was a deliberate act to humiliate Dr. Yunus.
In a related development, on 1 January this year, a labor court sentenced Dr. Yunus and three others to six months imprisonment each in a separate case filed by the DIFE. This verdict is currently under appeal.
