Highlights: Bangladesh: Bank confirms ousting of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus from two companies. In conflict with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and targeted by around a hundred accusations. Yunus, 83, made a name for himself by lifting millions of people out of poverty thanks to his pioneering microcredit bank, Grameen Bank. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined BDT 5,000 in a labor law violation case, in Dhaka, in Bangladesh, January 1, 2024.

In Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was ousted from two companies he founded. In conflict with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and targeted by around a hundred accusations,…

Bangladesh: Bank confirms ousting of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus from two companies

In Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was ousted from two companies he founded. In conflict with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and targeted by around a hundred accusations, the microcredit pioneer notably lost control of Grameen Telecom, one of the richest companies in Bangladesh, which owns 34% of the leading telephone network. mobile of the country.

Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus gestures in court after being sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined BDT 5,000 in a labor law violation case, in Dhaka , in Bangladesh, January 1, 2024. REUTERS - MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN

By: RFI Follow

A Bangladeshi bank confirmed this Saturday, February 17, that it had ousted Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus from two companies he had created, a few weeks after a

prison sentence

, suspended by an appeal. Nicknamed the “

banker of the poor

», Muhammad Yunus, 83, made a name for himself by lifting millions of people out of poverty thanks to his pioneering microcredit bank, Grameen Bank.

But he fell out with

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

who accused him of “

sucking the blood

” of the poor. The government notably forced him to resign from Grameen Bank in 2011, nevertheless leaving him to manage dozens of anti-poverty companies that he also founded.

A hundred accusations

It was the current president of Grameen Bank who confirmed that his board of directors had appointed new managers to head at least two companies controlled by Yunus. Saiful Majid is now chairman of Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom, one of Bangladesh's richest companies, which owns 34% of the country's leading mobile phone network. Saiful Majid explained to the press that these “

are subsidiaries of Grameen Bank

», Muhammad Yunus and his relatives being “

not owners of the companies

”.

Read alsoMuhammad Yunus, economist and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

Muhammad Yunus, whose popularity has made him a potential rival of Sheikh Hasina for years, denounced on February 15 the fact that a group of “

outsiders

” had broken into a building housing several of his companies and had taken control offices, refusing access to staff. He considered that there was no legal basis for this eviction, against which he was unable to file a complaint.

Muhammad Yunus and three Grameen Telecom managers were also sentenced to six months in prison in early January for violating labor law by failing to create a provident fund, a case that drew criticism from human rights defenders. 'man. The four defendants, who appealed and remain free on bail, reject these accusations. The economist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, faces more than a hundred other charges relating to alleged labor law violations and allegations of corruption.

Bangladesh: Bank confirms ousting of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus from two companies

Bangladesh: Bank confirms ousting of Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus from two companies

A hundred accusations

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