B’desh govt orders legal action against Muhammad Yunus

The government on Monday ordered legal action against Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who revolutionised Bangladesh’s microcredit sector, for allegedly claiming tax exemption for income from foreign sources, misuse of power and violating foreign travel regulations.

‘The cabinet took a decision that NBR (National Board of Revenue) and the Banking Division of Bangladesh Bank may file separate cases against him (Yunus),’ Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said the cabinet also thought that Yunus breached the Grameen Bank Ordinance by transferring its funds to an affiliate organisation of the micro lending agency while it was authorised only to lend it to the landless people alongside enjoying tax relief on his personal income in an improper way being a ‘public servant’.

The top bureaucrat added that the cabinet decided that if needed, the Law Ministry would provide the revenue authority and the central bank the legal assistance towards that end. 

Bhuiyan, however, did not explain how Yunus was treated as a government or public servant but officials said he should be regarded as a government official for his appointment as the managing director and CEO of the Grameen, in which the government has stake.

The 73-year-old economist is on a protracted row with the government due to obscure reasons.