No one at Grameen Telecom knows about graft case withdrawal: Lawyer

Officials of Grameen Telecom, including Dr Muhammad Yunus, who were accused of embezzling and smuggling out about Tk25 crore of workers' dividends in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption (ACC) Commission, are not aware that the case has been withdrawn.

Dr Yunus will fight the case legally, his lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun said today (12 August) in front of the Supreme Court's Annex Building.

He said, "No one at Grameen Telecom knows anything about the withdrawal of the case. Grameen Telecom's statement is that by making false accusations against these people [the accused], they [ACC] have insulted and defamed the accused as thieves, money embezzlers and smugglers in front of the countrymen and the whole world. And now they withdrew the case overnight."

Lawyer Mamun said, "Dr Muhammad Yunus respects the law. He said, and still says, that every case will proceed according to the legal procedure. He will deal with every case legally. We are not aware of the issue [withdrawal of the case] that happened yesterday. We do not know about the matter."

Earlier yesterday, Judge Rabiul Islam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 acquitted chief adviser of the incumbent interim government and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, and 13 others in a case filed for allegedly embezzling around Tk25 crore from Grameen Telecom Workers' profit participation fund.

Judge Rabiul Islam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 passed the order, accepting a plea of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for withdrawal of the prosecution of the case.

The 13 others accused in the case were Grameen Telecom Managing Director Md Nazmul Islam, directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum and Prof Huzzatul Islam Latifee, President of Grameen Telecom Sramik-Karmachari Union Md Kamruzzaman, general secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali, union's representative Md Mainul Islam and Jatiya Worker's Federation office secretary Kamrul Hasan.

The ACC filed the case against the 14 on 30 May in 2023.

ACC deputy director and investigation officer Gulshan Anwar filed a case charge-sheet on 1 February in 2024.