Dr Yunus seeks bail in graft case

Grameen Telecom chairman Dr Muhammad Yunus sought bail on surrender before a Dhaka court on Sunday in a case filed for embezzling Tk 25 crore 22 lakh from the fund reserved for the workers.

Dr Yunus’s lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun submitted the bail petition before Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions and Judge Court Judge As-Shams Jaglul Hossain in the morning on behalf of Yunus.

He himself confirmed the this.

Earlier on February 1, the case investigation officer ACC’s deputy director Gulshan Anwar chargeshitted Dr Yunus and 13 others.

The anti-graft body on January 29 approved the charge-sheet filed against Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Telecom managing director Nazmul Islam, former managing director Ashraful Hasan, directors Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Noorjahan Begum and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Grameen Telecom Sramik-Karmachari Union president Md Kamruzzaman and general secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, office secretary Qamrul Hasan, lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Md Yusuf Ali and Grameen Telecom Sramik-Karmachari Union representative Mainul Islam.

Among the accused, Parvin Mahmud is now on bail.

The investigation officer pleaded to the court to issue arrest warrants against the rest 13 accused.

ACC on May 30, 2023, filed the case with its Dhaka-1 integrated district office.

According to the case documents, a decision was made on the company’s 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus on May 9, 2022, to open a bank account at Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank Limited. But 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’ and decision of the board. 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.