Indictment order in graft case against Dr Yunus, 13 others on 12 June
Dr Yunus and the others accused were present in court during today's hearing
A Dhaka court today set 12 June to pass its order on charges framed against Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case over the embezzlement of around Tk25 crore from dividends reserved for Grameen Telecom workers.
Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-4 set the date following the hearing on the charge sheet and petition seeking acquittal of the accused in this case.
During today's hearing, Dr Muhammad Yunus and the others accused were present in court.
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They pleaded not guilty to the charges and sought exemption from the case, according to court sources.
Earlier on 2 April, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain accepted the Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) charge sheet against Dr Yunus and 13 others in the graft case.
Later, an order for the transfer of the case to Special Judge Court-4 for trial was given.
On 1 February, the investigating officer of the case, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, filed the charge sheet against 14 individuals, including Dr Yunus, in the court.
In May last year, Gulshan Anwar filed the case with the anti-graft body's integrated district office in Dhaka.
Besides Dr Yunus, other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Nazmul Islam, its directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Md Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, representative Md Mainul Islam, Jatiya Sramik Federation Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan, lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali.
According to the case statement, a decision was made at the company's 108th board meeting, presided over by Dr Yunus, on 9 May 2022, to open a bank account at the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank. However, it was found that the account was already opened a day before the meeting.
Over Tk26 crore was transferred to the account on different occasions, as per "fake settlement agreements" and the decision of the board.
However, before distributing the share of the company's profit to the workers and informing them, the accused, in collusion with each other, embezzled about Tk25 crore from the fund.
