Hasina terms Yunus cheat, usurer

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday termed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus a cheat, saying that he gave no share of profit made by Grameenphone to microfinance organisation Grameen Bank as he promised before setting up the telecommunications company.
Replying to a supplementary question from Jatiya Party lawmaker AKM Mayeedul Islam during the prime minister’s question-answer in the parliament, she also alleged that Yunus and an editor of a newspaper were responsible for World Bank’s withdrawal of investment from the Padma Bridge project.
Without naming Yunus, Mayeedul urged the prime
minister to take action against former Grammeen Bank managing director ‘who siphoned off crores of taka abroad.’
Hasina also did not name Yunus in her reply, but termed former Grameen Bank managing director a usurer saying that he had made fortune fleecing struggling poor.
She also alleged that the Nobel winner did not pay tax against his fixed deposit income and 40-50 other companies evolved centring Grameen Bank.
She asked finance minister AMA Muhith to look into the matters and take actions.
‘When we assumed power in 1996, he [Yunus] used to visit me requesting for licence for telephone operator Grameenphone. He then promised that the profit of Grameenphone would go  to Grameen Bank that would be lend to general people and Grameen Bank would be stronger’ Hasina said.
‘I believed him. We allowed three more companies considering that the telephone service would reach to the general people. Grameen phone stood third in the bidding and was not supposed to get licence but we allowed it thinking that profit would go to the hand of the poor through Grameen Bank,’ she added.
The prime minister said, ‘It is unfortunate that he [Yunus] had sold a good portion of share which ought to be part of Bangladesh and had turned Grameen phone into his personal property. About 30 per cent share of Grameen phone is in his hand.’
Hasina said that everyone blamed her for removal of Yunus from the position of Grameen Bank managing director. ‘I had nothing to do, as Grameen Bank MD was removed by the court,’ she added.
‘His lobbyist even Hilary Clinton [former US secretary of state] made me phone call, why he [Yunus] had been removed from MD position’.  
‘He [Yunus] along with an editor of a newspaper went to meet World Bank president and lobbied others including Hilary Clinton that stopped World Bank funding in the Padma bridge project,’ the prime minister said. 

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