Bangladesh court indicts Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and others on charges of embezzlement

By JULHAS ALAM
Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special judge’s court in Bangladesh has indicted Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and 13 others on charges in an over $2 million embezzlement case. Yunus, 83, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit to help impoverished people, pleaded not guilty and is out on bail for now. He told reporters that authorities were “harassing” him and denied being involved in any corruption. In a packed Dahka courtroom, the special judge dismissed petitions seeking the charges — which centers around Yunus’ non-profit Grameen Telecom — to be dropped. The prosecution has accused Yunus and the others of embezzling about $2 million from the worker’s welfare fund of Grameen Telecom and of money laundering.