The High Court (HC) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal for cancellation of an embezzlement case against seven including Grameen Telecom Chairman Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
A High Court division bench comprising Justice M. Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Ibadat Hossain scrapped the Nobel laureate's plea followed by a short hearing in the afternoon on Wednesday.
"The charges were framed upon primary evidence. The defendants' were unable to produce any reasonable proof against the allegations made against them and so, the plea was dismissed," ACC's lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam told journalists.
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 Taka 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 around Taka 25 crore from the fund.
The accused in the case are-- Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, its Managing Director (MD) Nazmul Islam, Directors Ashraful Hasan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, Md Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum and Prof 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.
