Nobel laureate accused of embezzlement, this would be historic: Dr Yunus

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has taken bail, appearing before a court at Old Dhaka as he has been included in the charge sheet of a money laundering lawsuit. Muhammad Yunus.

He said it will be a historic event. Not only the people of the country, but also the whole world is watching this.

“There is no problem if you write for me or against me. Today’s incident is part of history,” Dr Yunus told newspersons after getting bail from the court of the Senior Special Judge of Dhaka Metro Sunday afternoon.

Shall we feel pride or guilt for this incident, asked Dr Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank.

He said, “How did we give birth to such a child? Or why did we make such a child such a criminal? We have no respite from these questions.”

Dr Muhammad Yunus, who is currently serving as the chairman of Grameen Telecom, surrendered before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Special Judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain and sought bail in the money laundering case Sunday afternoon. The court passed the bail order.

Later, Dr Yunus talked to the media on the court premises. He said, “This is not confined to here, not even within the country. The whole world is observing the trial and its outcome. They are watching in detail what we are doing.”

Requesting the journalists to take photos of the moment, Dr Muhammad Yunus stated, “The Anti-Corruption Commission, Bottola … this is a historic incident. This will be covered by newspapers, and written in many books for a long time in the future.”

Explaining his terming the incident as historic, Dr Yunus said, “A money embezzlement accusation has been brought against a Nobel Laureate, an accusation of fraudulence, and an accusation of money laundering. I’m not alone, the same accusation has been brought against another seven people.”

Dr Muhammad Yunus claimed to have worked hard for poor people throughout his life.

Speaking about his colleagues accused in the case, he said, “No one came here to work. They came here to sacrifice their lives. Now they are also accused of embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.”

Stating that laws are enacted wishing good for the people, Dr Yunus said, “Laws bring a sense of security and peace among people; again, this law gives birth to apprehensions and fear. Where will we lead this law?”

“Our children will study at schools. They will never forget the Nobel prize. That man (the Nobel laureate) has been accused of money embezzlement, money laundering and fraudulence. They will become confused. Is that a mask or face of an actual human being? Was he alone or did he have cohorts?”

Earlier on 1 February, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against Dr Yunus and 13 others in a case filed on allegation of embezzling a profit of Tk 252 million of the Grameen Telecom employees.

Apart from this, a labour tribunal on 1 January sentenced to six months imprisonment to Dr Yunus and three others in a case filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) on charges of violating labour laws.

Dr Yunus and the three others filed an appeal with the labour appeal tribunal.

Dr Yunus on Sunday morning appeared before the Labour Appellate Tribunal in the capital’s Kakrail in the case filed by the DIFE and got a bail. Later, he appeared before the Dhaka metropolitan special judge court in Old Dhaka in the money laundering case and sought a bail.