Prof Yunus, 13 others indicted in graft case

A Dhaka court today framed charges against Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and 13 others in a case filed over misappropriation of about Tk 25.22 crore of Grameen Telecom Workers' Profit Participation Fund.

Dr Yunus and 13 others, now on bail, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice after Judge Syed Arafat Hossain of the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka read out the charges to them.

Before that, the judge dismissed the petitions submitted for discharging them from the charges.

The court fixed July 15 for starting the trial.

In the order, the judge said the charges brought against Dr Yunus and others were primarily proved and thus, charges were framed against them. Moreover, the charges of misappropriationand laundering the money were also proved, said the judge.

The 13 other accused are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Nazmul Islam, Directors Ashraful Hassan, Naznin Sultana, Parvin Mahmud, M Shahjahan, Nurjahan Begum, and SM Huzzatul Islam Latifee, Sramik-Karmachari Union President Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan and representative Mainul Islam, Jatiya Workers Federation Office Secretary Kamrul Hasan, and lawyers Zafrul Hasan Sharif and Yusuf Ali.

On June 2, Anti-Corruption Commission's Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kazol placed his arguments in favour of framing charges against the accused. At the same time, defence lawyers, including Abdullah-Al-Mamun and Mohammad Shaheenoor Islam, submitted their arguments before the court in favour of discharging the 14 accused, including Yunus.

On May 2, the court granted bail to them.

On April 2, the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka accepted the charges pressed against the 14 accused.

On that day, the court also transferred the case to the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka for the next course of action.

On February 1 this year, Investigation Officer Gulshan Anwar Prodhan, a deputy director of the ACC, placed the charge sheet before the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka.

Gulshan Anwar filed the case with the ACC's integrated district office in Dhaka on May 30 last year.