Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has said that when the final stage of humiliation is reached, one must enter the iron cage.
“The cursed life has reached a critical stage, so I had to enter the iron cage,” he told reporters outside the court on Sunday.
On Sunday, Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka held a hearing regarding the framing of charges against 14 individuals, including Dr Yunus. Following the hearing, the court is expected to issue an order on June 12.
After the proceedings, Dr Yunus addressed journalists, sharing his thoughts on the situation.
He said: “It is a memorable event in my life to stand in the iron cage in the courtroom. This is part of the cursed life. We all know about the Nobel Prize. Two Nobel Prizes have been awarded—one in my name and another in the name of Grameen Bank. Both hold equal importance and dignity; neither is lesser than the other. These were not awarded jointly but independently.”
Dr Yunus pointed out that there is no precedent in the history of the world where a Nobel laureate has appeared before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to face charges brought by another Nobel laureate. “This is part of the curse we are enduring,” he said.
He acknowledged that there might be allegations but emphasized that these were made in an aggressive manner and lacked substance.
“I have explained what happened. There is no truth in these accusations. I am being accused of things like misappropriating funds, but all the charges against me and my colleagues are part of this curse. This is not acceptable to me at all. They have attacked my family, my father, my brothers, and sisters. This is all part of the cursed life.”
Addressing the journalists, Dr Yunus urged them to investigate and write about why he had to face this humiliation. “Don’t just report what you hear. Write about the truth, the importance, and the role of these events. Reporting only what was said is not enough. There needs to be a deeper explanation, informing everyone about the underlying issues. I seek everyone’s cooperation in this matter.”
Dr Yunus and 13 others were sued for the misappropriation of over Tk25 crore of Grameen Telecom Workers’ Profit Participation Fund.
On Sunday, after the indictment hearing, the judge dismissed the discharge plea by the accused.
Whether charges will be framed against the 14 accused in the case will be known on that day.
On February 1, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a charge sheet against Grameen Telecom Chairman Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case filed for embezzling Tk25 crore.
On May 30, 2023, ACC filed the case with its Dhaka-1 integrated district office.
According to the case documents, a decision was made at the company’s 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus on May 9, 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 Tk25 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 Tk25 crore from the fund.
Dhaka Tribune
