A Dhaka court has framed charges against Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case filed for allegedly embezzling Tk 25 crore from the company and laundering abroad.
Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 on Wednesday framed the charges rejecting the discharge petition submitted by the accused.
As a result, a trial in the case has formally begun against them.
The 14 accused in the case are- Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Telecom Managing Director (MD) 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, the union's representative Md Mainul Islam and Jatiya Workers Federation's Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan.
The investigation officer in the case and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) deputy director Gulshan Anwar on February 1 filed the charge sheet against 14 accused.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court on April 2, 2024, took into cognizance the charge sheet filed in the case and sent the case to Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 for further proceedings.
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.
Over Tk 26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per 'fake settlement agreements'. But before even distributing the share of the company's profit to the workers, and letting them know, the accused embezzled Tk 25 crore from the fund.