After taking charge of Bangladesh since August 8, the interim regime head Dr Muhammad Yunus pledged to root out corruption from the country, claiming to make the fight against graft his number one priority as tribute to lives lost in July August violence under the reform process in his mission to “rebuild Bangladesh”. “We give it the top-most priority”, was how Yunus sought to assure the world of fighting graft when asked by Japanese broadcaster NHK on plans to root out corruption form Bangladesh. With a set of lofty pledges, the noble peace laureate vowed to make his band of advisors transparent and accountable more than ever by turning them anti-corruption campaigners, ushering in a new dawn of corruption free country, a break away from traditional culture of abusing state power.

But within seven months, all these rosy and hefty commitments have fizzled out and became a sheer act of betrayal with the people and the world also as the same Yunus and his advisors have reportedly earmarked on a set of undue privileges to expand business empire and to make their lives easier. According to a report by Bangladesh newspaper many of his advisors are caught red handed using four to five vehicles, meant to serve public welfare, solely for personal use while they are entitled to use only one, flaunting the rules and a sheer waste of taxpayers’ money.

Alarmingly, all the advisors and the office of Yunus apparently sought to brush this glaring abuse by advisors under the carpet until the newspaper broke the massive irregularities that Transparency International Bangladesh’s chapter executive Director Iftekharuzzaman called “a glaring violation with the spirit of the July August revolution. This brazen abuse of state power by his advisors further undermined the credibility of Yunus’s effort to project his opposition party Awami League as the only problem behind corruption.

On the other hand, Yunus’s national credibility for fighting corruption got drowned out as social media activists held him accused of abusing state power following the unusual rapid approval, using public state organs, endowed for business entities publicly known to have been affiliated with Yunus.

The hasty and hurriedly given approval for so many largescale business enterprises owned by either Yunus or his family members and former employees have marred his commitment to end corruption and many independent experts consider these speedy approvals a testament to abuse of power by Yunus, asking for impartial investigation

Yunus’s rule boosting his business empires, Yunus’s conflict of interest on spotlight
Within two months of assuming power, Yunus’s micro credit business institution Grameen Bank given a five year tax exemption benefits while a license has been approved by the interim regime for manpower export owned by Yunus’s personal company Yunus center and Grameen Education. Overturning a previous ruling, a High Court verdict exempted Grameen Kalyan, owned by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, a staggering BDT 666 crore in taxes to the National Revenue Board (NBR). Approval has been granted for a private university under named “Grameen University” that reportedly propped up Yunus’s close circle.

On the other hand, questions have been raised by anti-corruption campaigners, labour rights activists and lawyers over a deafening silence on part of Yunus centering the hasty and sweeping acquittal of cases filed against the famed microcredit lender before August 5 by workers from very organizations he held ranks.

Sweeping acquittals raises questions
Just a day before Yunus took charge, on August 7, in a hurriedly taken out move, a Dhaka tribunal delivered a verdict, acquitting Yunus and three top officials of Grameen Telecom, in a labour law violation case in which he had been sentenced to six months in jail. Days later, activists stormed the apex court, the chief justice buckled under pressure and was forced to resign on August 10.

Ironically, two days later on August 12, judges at a special court in Dhaka acquitted Yunus along with 13 other people. If he was found guilty of money laundering in that case, Yunus faced the risk of life imprisonment.

While these sweeping acquittals for Yunus and his associates came within less than a week at a time when the country was reeling from mob rule, allegations have surfaced against the interim regime chief over prioritizing his own legal fate instead of restoring law and order and save public lives.

Despite Yunus’s claim to project himself as a victim of Sheikh Hasina’s prosecution, let’s not forget how Yunus’s defense lawyer in 2023 drew flak for asking judges in an appeal court to acquit Yunus as his client “Dr. Yunus won a Nobel prize, and he is also going to clinch another in the year to come. And just to stop him from securing the Nobel a second time, the authorities are subjecting him to so much harassment.” Back then, Yunus too did not take any action against the lawyer even though he did not secure a second noble.

Let’s revisit some of lawsuits surrounding the conduct of microcredit business from Grameen Bank headed by Yunus in light of national and international media outlets let alone accounts of his colleagues, that now raised by activists on social media

A microcredit lender institution Grameen Bank has been known to the world as the brainchild of economics professor Yunus but a BBC report in 2011 quoting critics say “the microcredit concept was not really his brainchild. They argue that it was around long before he latched on to the idea in the early 1980s.”

While the bank was founded in 1976, it was transformed into a Public Statutory Body named “Grameen Bank”, through an ordinance, thanks to the patronage from the country’s second military dictator General Ershad. Years later, in August 1990, the grip of Yunus became official within the bank as he was elevated to the rank of Managing Director (MD), a permanent position with salary worth BDT 6000.

Why former GB officials accused Yunus of benefiting family business depriving 10 million bank members
It is in public domain that Yunus pursued then secretary of state Hillary Clinton who even lobbied Awami League president Sheikh Hasina to ensure Yunus stay as the MD of GB despite a section of officials inside the bank sought to remove the economics professor.

While Yunus continued to mount pressure, evident in his interviews with international outlets, to grab the rank without explaining the allegations pressed against him by his opponent groups inside the bank and he also maintained silence over breach of age limit to grab the rank and file.

Let’s take a look at complaints lodged by officials of Grameen bank against Yunus
In May 25 last year, a team led by Grameen Bank’s deputy managing director Pradeep Kumar Saha submitted the complaint to ACC chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah at the commission’s headquarters in Dhaka.

After submitting the complaint, Pradeep Kumar told journalists that Professor Yunus provided a loan of Tk 9.5 crore to his family-owned company ‘Packages Corporation Limited’ from Grameen Bank, violating rules and abusing his power.

According to the complaint, soon after his rise as MD, Yunus abused his rank and took a loan from the bank for expansion of his family owned ailing PCL, which was built to make profit from manufacturing printing and packaging material. Yunus’s father was Managing Director of PCL and he was one of the directors in the company.

From 1990-1991, a staggering amount worth BDT 2 crores has been withdrawn by Yunus at reduced rates of interest and subsequently he got an waiver off approved by the board. Furthermore, as per the agreement between PCL and GB, Yunus not only transferred the entire assets and liabilities of PCL to GB but also showed GB as guarantor against the loan taken from the same bank.

“Yunus did issue work orders worth hundreds of crores of taka to his own printing press at rates 30%-40% higher than usual,” Masud Akhtar, the former chief legal advisor of Grameen Bank told media in June 2024.