Court Correspondent

A Dhaka court framed charges against Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others for allegedly embezzling Tk 25 crore from the company and laundering abroad.

Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 passed the order, scrapping a discharge petition filed by the accused.

The court read out the charges and asked the accused, who are in bail in the case whether they would plead guilty or not. In response, the accused pleaded not guilty and demanded justice.

Public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kazal on June 2 took part in the indictment hearing and pleaded for framing charges against the accused.

The defence, however, argued for discharging the accused from the charges.

After hearing both sides, the court had set today for passing its order.

The 14 accused in the case are- Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Telecom Managing Director (MD) Nazmul Islam, Directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum and Professor SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, President of 'Grameen Telecom Sramik-Karmachari Union Md Kamruzzaman and its General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali, Union's representative Md Mainul Islam and Jatiya Workers Federation's Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan.

The investigation officer in the case and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) deputy director Gulshan Anwar on February 1 filed the charge sheet against a total of 14 accused.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court on 2 April 2024, took into cognizance the charge sheet filed in the case and sent the case to Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 for further proceedings.

According to the case documents, 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 at the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank Limited. However, it was found that the account was opened a day before the decision was even made.

More than Tk 26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per 'fake settlement agreements'.

But before even distributing the share of the company's profit to the workers, and letting them know, the accused embezzled around Tk 25 crore from the fund.