Muhammad Yunus, Nobel laureate, granted bail in Bangladesh embezzlement case

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been granted bail by a Dhaka court in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of more than Tk25 crore from the Grameen Telecom Workers’ Profit Participation Fund, as reported by Dhaka Tribune.

Senior Special Judge Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Court issued the bail order after Yunus surrendered before the court and applied for bail. During the hearing, Yunus’s lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamun, requested bail, while Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol opposed the plea. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted bail to Yunus.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed a charge sheet against Muhammad Yunus and 13 others on February 1, accusing them of embezzling Tk25 crore. The case was initiated on May 30, 2023, at the ACC’s Dhaka-1 integrated district office.

According to the case documents, during the company’s 108th board meeting on May 9, 2022, chaired by Dr. Yunus, a decision was made to open a bank account at the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank Limited. However, investigations revealed that the account was opened a day before the decision was made.

The account received more than Tk25 crore on various occasions based on “fake settlement agreements” and board decisions. However, before distributing the company’s profit share to the workers and informing them, the accused allegedly embezzled around Tk25 crore from the fund.

The approval of Yunus’s bail represents a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings related to the embezzlement case.