Daily Times

How well are social media users aware of Dr Yunus’ dark side? The question is important because social media is an important part of today’s world and Dr. Yunus is a widely discussed personality throughout the world. Social media allows users to connect and share ideas, concepts, and perspectives with others in a secure environment. Keeping in mind the importance of social media, we can look at the dark side of the much-talked-about Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus!

Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus was once widely praised, both domestically and internationally, for his pioneering work to “end poverty” through microfinance. However, his image suffered a dramatic drop when his fraudulent activities in tax evasion, money laundering, labour law violations, exploiting marginalised people, influencing the World Bank to revoke funding for the Padma Bridge, and abusing power to shield financial misdeeds were exposed. Instead of immediately addressing the grave allegations against him, Dr Yunus filed several cases and writ petitions with various courts to hush these matters. He tried to shift public attention away from his ethical and legal issues by undermining domestic authorities and seeking foreign support to portray himself as a political victim. Professor Yunus evoked sympathy and swayed social media opinion in Bangladesh and beyond using this tactic. However, a deeper investigation reveals that a large majority of netizens are unaware of his serial episodes of financial irregularities, blatant disregard for rules, shady business practices, and misuse of funds.

Yunus is well respected for his creative approach to poverty eradication. But the rude reality is that he violated the labour law of Bangladesh.

Many people think that Grameen Bank is a private institution that is more like an NGO, which is not correct. Grameen Bank is owned by the government of Bangladesh. Article 152 of the Constitution of Bangladesh clearly states that all bodies, organisations, or companies whose functions or main functions are governed by any special law, statute, or ordinance made by the state are state statutory bodies. Grameen Bank was established by an ordinance during the Ershad government; it is a state organisation, not a private company or NGO. In 1983, the then government issued Ordinance-46 to initiate Grameen Bank with a modest capital of TK 3 million. The government provided the majority of this capital (1.8 crore), with the borrowers contributing the remaining TK1.2 crore. Grameen Bank received no investment from Dr Yunus. However, he used Grameen Bank funds to establish 28 entities under his authority, all of which are legally associated with Grameen Bank. Therefore, to claim that the government has taken control of Prof. Yunus’s private companies is absurd, false, and illegal.

Grameen Bank has received contributions and loans from foreign organisations like IFAD, NORAD, SIDA, CIDA, USAID, and the Ford Foundation to provide credit to landless rural populations. However, it is observed that Yunus began establishing several for-profit businesses with these funds. The incidents of diverting poverty reduction funding suggest that international contributions for marginalised groups were exploited for personal benefit. It has seriously harmed Grameen Bank’s reputation and sparked doubts about the institution’s transparency and accountability.

Questions concerning Professor Yunus and his actions have been raised for a long time, but he has not faced any opposition, either due to his prominence and worldwide influence or the previous government’s reluctance. In 2010, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) first investigated corruption and financial irregularities against Prof. Yunus and other institutions he founded. The documentary revealed that Yunus moved about $100 million from the Grameen Bank’s cash granted by European nations to another organisation named Grameen Kalyan, which violated the laws. However, after the protests of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Embassy of Norway, Yunus returned some funds to Grameen Bank.

No surprise, that Prof. Yunus is regarded as having a great personality, but the truth is that he chooses not to pay taxes under his country’s system, which is absurd. Those who are blindly passionate about him should be aware that he has participated in massive tax evasion over the years via his own enterprises and personal income tax. Yunus attempted to avoid paying a large amount of money by ‘donating’ TK 760 million to three of his non-profit trusts, known as Yunus Trust, Yunus Family Trust, and Yunus Centre Trust. The National Bureau of Revenue (NBR) investigated the case and requested TK 160 million in compliance with the Gift Tax Law. Later, Prof. Yunus challenged the legitimacy of the NBR’s notification, filing a petition with the Tax Appellate Tribunal. He eventually lost a lengthy legal struggle and was forced to pay TK12.28 crore by the court judgement. Grameen Telecom, Dr Yunus’ single business entity, is estimated to have dodged almost Tk 1,000 crore in tax throughout its 26-year history.

Yunus is well respected for his creative approach to poverty eradication. But the rude reality is that he violated the labour law of Bangladesh. His workers were the first to report his illicit activity, while the government and other organisations were oblivious to it. Labour law violations include failing to make labourers and employees permanent after completing their apprenticeships (in violation of Section 4(7) of the Bangladesh Labour Act), failing to pay 5% of profits to labour welfare under the Labour Welfare Foundation Act of 2006, and failing to establish labour welfare and workers’ participation funds. As a result, on January 1, the Dhaka Labour Court convicted Yunus and three other high-profile Grameen Telecom management officials of violating labour laws and sentenced them to six months’ simple jail.

Grameen Bank initially received accolades for its unique strategy of giving microcredit to disadvantaged people, notably women. Yunus received considerable worldwide recognition for this technique and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. However, the sad reality is that millions of impoverished Bangladeshis are suffering as a result of being ensnared in the debt trap of many Yunus-controlled microfinance companies. Despite Grameen Bank’s 41-year history of microcredit implementation, there is no conclusive evidence of its effectiveness in lifting impoverished people out of poverty; instead, there have been numerous reports of victims of this terrible debt cycle attempting suicide due to their inability to repay their loans.

People across the world should understand that by advertising poverty alleviation, Yunus developed a network of the world’s most powerful people to shield his financial wrongdoing. While his concept of poverty reduction is largely accepted, his attempts to get legal immunity from unethical financial activities by leveraging his Nobel prestige and international influence are grounds for worry.

The Yunus case serves as a powerful reminder that accountability, transparency, and justice must triumph over individual legacies and organisational ties. It emphasises the idea that no one can dodge the law, no matter how powerful they are. Indeed, law and justice are equal for everyone, and this is also true in Bangladesh. Dr. Muhammad Yunus is no exception.

The writer is a columnist based in Bangladesh