Hearing in embezzlement case against Dr Yunus Aug 5

Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

A Dhaka court today fixed August 5 to record the depositions of the witnesses in the money embezzlement case filed against 14, including Dr Muhammad Yunus.

Earlier, Monday was scheduled to record the testimonies of the witnesses.

During the hearing this morning, lawyers of the defendants made an application to postpone the hearing, as a separate case challenging the validity of the charge sheets pressed against the accused was pending in the High Court Division.  

However, prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) strongly opposed the defendants’ lawyer and appealed to the court to record the depositions on Monday. 

After hearing, Judge Rabiul Islam of the Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka fixed the date afresh.  

According to the case documents, a decision was made at the company’s 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus on May 9 of 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 made.

Over TK 26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per ‘fake settlement agreements’. But before distributing the share of the company’sprofit to the workers, and letting them know, the accused embezzled around TK25 crore from the fund.

Other accused people are- Grameen Telecom Managing Director 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.