Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus defended himself, saying, “I have committed no crime, and I’m not afraid,” when he appeared before the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday morning.
He was there for questioning in a case filed over alleged misappropriation of Tk 25.22 crore from Grameen Telecom’s Workers’ Profit Participation Fund (WPPF).
The Nobel laureate left the ACC office in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha around 10:56am after talking to the investigation officer.
After coming out of the ACC office, Dr Yunus’ lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun said that his client was not involved in any irregularities involving Grameen Telecom’s Workers’ Profit Participation Fund.
He said the former employees and workers of Grameen Telecom were paid the dividends in line with the rule.
The lawyer said that Dr Yunus went to ACC to help them in the investigation despite him having a meeting at the United Nations as he “respects the law.”
On Tuesday, the ACC asked Dr Yunus and 12 others to appear today (Thursday) for questioning in the misappropriation case.
The ACC’s investigation officer in a letter summoned Dr Yunus for the purpose of investigation.
In the letter to Dr Yunus dated September 27, the ACC said Dr Yunus’s statement was crucial for the thorough investigation of the embezzlement case involving Tk 25.22 crore against 13 accused, including the management council of Grameen Telecom Company.
Based on the allegations of embezzlement of dividends of the workers, the ACC conducted an investigation and filed a case based on the report from the Department Of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.
ACC’s Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Pradhan filed the case against Dr Yunus and 12 others for misappropriation of about Tk 25 crore from the company’s WPPF fund on May 30 this year.
