Author: Protect Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

The international media is focusing more and more on the persecution of Professor Muhammad Yunus by the Bangladeshi government, as part of a wider critique of its human rights record. The most recent example is a hard-hitting article in the Economist.

It includes this observation: “The summons from the commission is the latest salvo in a decade-long campaign waged against Mr Yunus by Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh’s prime minister. Her government claims that the aim is to root out corruption. But the probe into Mr Yunus is testament to rising authoritarianism in Bangladesh, which is increasingly circumscribing the space for the civil society the country once sought to nurture.”

And it concludes this with one: “The timing of the recent probes appears to be motivated by Sheikh Hasina’s worry about political competition ahead of an election next year. Since August the government has filed criminal charges against thousands of critics and members of the opposition, according to Human Rights Watch, a pressure group. Mr Yunus’s international standing makes him a potent threat to the prime minister’s power… Mr Yunus has shown no such inclination [to run for office] since his abortive foray into politics back in 2007. But Sheikh Hasina seems unwilling to take the risk.”

Last week, the so-called “Anti-Corruption Commission” of the Bangladesh government sent a letter to Grameen Telecom demanding mountains of information from the organization, its leaders, and 42 other Grameen and Yunus-affiliated entities.  All of it is due today, September 29. 

As has happened many times during the attacks on Professor Yunus and Grameen over the last 12 years – though never on this scale – hundreds of hours of time will need to be spent by professionals who were hired to fight poverty to do something very different: to supply a government (one that should be supporting and applauding them) with information that will then be examined for anything that might be in any way embarrassing for Professor Yunus and the people and organizations that have rallied to his vision of a world free from poverty. 

This harassment of one of the great moral leaders of our time must stop.  For it to stop, the international media and diplomats from G-20 countries need to start paying more attention to this unfolding farce and tragedy. British journalist David Bergman recently wrote about this latest development in the context of Bangladesh’s human rights record in recent years.

The English translation of the letter appears below:   

***
Anti-Corruption Commission

Head Office

1, Segunbagicha, Dhaka

[As per Anti-Corruption Commission Law, 2004 & Anti-Corruption Commission Rules, 2007]

Ref. No. 00.01.0000.502.01.026.22.35313                                                    Date: 22/09/2022

To:

Chairman / Managing Director & CEO

Grameen Telecom

Grameen Bank Bhaban, Mirpur-2, Dhaka-1216

Subject: Supply of records / information for investigation of complaints.

Ref: Anti-Corruption Commission, Head Office, Dhaka file No –  00.01.0000.502.01.026.22.

In reference to the aforementioned subject and reference we would like to inform that a three members investigation committee has been formed comprising Md. Gulshan Anowar Pradhan, Deputy Director (Team Leader), Jesmin Akter, Assistant Director and Mohammad Nur Alam Siddiqui, Assistant Director to investigate into the following complaints and submit the report.

Brief description of complaints:

Misappropriation of 5% dividend by various irregularities by the board of directors of Grameen Telecom that was reserved for distribution among labourers / employees, unlawful deduction of 6% of money in the name of lawyer fees and other fees while paying employees’ dues of BDT 364,17,09,146/-, misappropriation by not distributing of allocated BDT 45,52,13,643/- including interest for their welfare fund, and  transfer of BDT 2,977 Crore (Two Thousand Nine Hundred and  Seventy-Seven Crore) to bank accounts of other sister concerns through money laundering.

For proper investigation of the aforementioned complaints collection and review of the following records are necessary.

Therefore, you are kindly requested to cooperate in the investigation work by instructing the concerned officer to send attested copies of the demanded information/records to the undersigned by 22/09/2022.

Description of demanded records:

1.     Names and copies of trade license/income tax/VAT/Directorate of Cooperatives permission/ Bangladesh Bank permission/copy of license as joint stock company of Grameen Kalyan or its associated 54 organizations from date of formation of these organizations in a format. Identity of MDs of these organizations, officer and staff list, salary statement of all staff including MD, where salary money come from-related bank statement, activities of the organizations, sources of their funds, statement of FDR money if any, where and how the interest money is spent – audit report with money trail.

2.     Copies of 24 deeds of purchase of all lands of Grameen Kalyan or its associated organizations.

3.     Registration No. of Grameen Telecom Trust, attested copy of approval letter from Bangladesh Bank.

4.     List of all 128 businesses of Dr. Muhammad Yunus in the name of social business owned by Grameen Kalyan or its associated organizations, amount of money invested in these businesses, from which institutions the money came from, where the money has gone to – records with money trail. If Grameen Kalyan or any of its associated organization under Dr. Muhammad Yunus has license for microcredit activities – specific information with attested copies.

5.     Where and how the interest money from Grameen Kalyan’s FDRs is invested – records with money trail.

6.     If Grameen Telecom or its associated organizations have received any donation / fund from any foreign organization – detailed information. If Grameen Kalyan received any foreign donation from ILO, Caledonian Nursing College – if received then in what process and amount of donation and where the money is invested – information based on records and money trail.

7.     Detailed information of who donated the “Haque Blue Hospital” in Patuakhali Sadar and to whom. If purchased then in whose name was it purchased and in what way the money was paid, which organization or person paid the money – records with money trail.

8.     Grameen Telecom shows a profit of BDT 237 crore from selling a piece of land, what was the purchase price of the land in the joint venture, photocopy of the deed, and what was the selling price – photocopy of the deed. Where and how the money from selling the land is kept.

9.     Audit reports of Grameen Kalyan Trust from the beginning until 2022. List of organizations from whom money has been received as donation, loan or in any other form and how much has been received. Information of how much money it has paid and to which organizations as donation, loan or in any other form. Information of investment in land or in any other form is to be given.

10.  Amount of total money spent in the construction of the Grameen Telecom Bhaban, who supplied the money or where the organization got the money from. How much space Grameen Telecom purchased in it and the amount of money paid – with money trail of repayment. Detailed explanation of why Grameen Telecom had to purchase the space since the building is owned by itself. Information of where and how the payment is invested in. Likewise, list of Grameen family companies who purchased spaces in Grameen Telecom Bhaban and how much each of them paid for it.

11.  Grameen Telecom is a non-profit organization, and hence if it can take loan from some other organization against interest or give loan to someone. Why the organization, since it has so much money of its own, had to take loan on interest from different bank – explanation along with amount of loans and interest paid to each of the banks in a format.

12.  Amount of income tax on source from dividend paid to Grameen Kalyan by Grameen Telecom from 2002 to 2015 in a format. Record of whether the tax is paid. Information of whether WPPF of Grameen Telecom workers have been paid as per Labour Laws from 2006 to 2013, how much money was due to the workers for it during the time – detailed accounts to be given in a format.

13.  Why Grameen Telecom’s shares with different organizations were given to Grameen Telecom Trust – report with explanation, BDT 14.42 Crore repaid to Grameen Telecom against purchase of shares with 4 organizations were donated to Grameen Telecom Trust a few days later – report with explanation of why.

14.  Operating expenses of Grameen Telecom from 2015 to June 2022 – worker salary statement (record-based), consultancy costs, telephone and travel expenses, Covid expenses are to be given in a format. (Record-based).

15.  Names of the 43 institutions in the attached list, their trade license / income tax certificate/ Directorate of Cooperatives / Bangladesh Bank permission / copy of license as joint stock company / date of formation of the organization are to be supplied in a format. Identity of MDs of these companies, officer and staff list, salary statement of all staff including MD, where salary money come from – relevant bank statement, activities of the organizations, sources of their funds, statement of FDR money if any, where and how the interest money is spent – audit report with money trail. If the company has purchased any land or has any other investment – the information is also to be furnished and description necessary records.

Signature:

Md. Gulshan Anowar Pradhan

Deputy Director

&

Leader of Investigation Team

Date: 22/09/2022

Ref No. 00.01.0000.502.01.026.22

Copy sent for kind information:

1.     Director General (Special Investigation), Anti-Corruption Commission, Head Office, Dhaka

2.     Director (Special Inquiry & Investigation 21) and supervising officer of investigation file, Anti-Corruption Commission, Head Office, Dhaka

3.     Office copy

Md. Gulshan Anowar Pradhan, Deputy Director

Perhaps after seeing that its baseless attacks against Professor Yunus about the withdrawal of World Bank funding for the Padma Bridge were going nowhere — it is common knowledge that the lost funding was in fact due to government corruption — the ruling party in Bangladesh took up another issue against him: one related to the work of Grameen Telecom, a nonprofit organization that he founded around 25 years ago.

With investigations and legal proceedings underway, the Yunus Centre has stayed publicly silent on this issue. But now, British journalist David Bergman has written a devastating critique of the government’s accusations and attacks related to Grameen Telecom, which Professor Yunus chairs (and for which he receives no financial benefits whatsoever). It is definitely worth checking out if you want to understand what’s going on here.

The article concludes with these words:

There are many people, particularly those linked to the country’s opposition parties, who are or have been held in the Bangladesh jails for no legitimate reason other than for the political convenience of the current government. Its control of the police and the courts provides the authorities with the ability to lock up those people it wishes.

The government cannot do this so easily in relation to Yunus as unlike others he is protected by his Nobel Peace Prize as well as his stellar international reputation. The government will only ever be able to get away with imprisoning Yunus if it had a very strong provable evidence-based rationale, which is absent despite their years of looking.

In the meantime, these current investigations serve to harass and intimidate Yunus, seeking to make him a controversial figure and, in the eyes of the prime minister, less of a threat to her, which is in effect the government’s ultimate objective.

They also possibly serve another purpose. The government (and the Awami League) would no doubt love to get its hand on the the Grameenphone dividends which are given to Grameen Telecom, and these investigations might be part of their attempt to wrest control of them away from the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the other directors of the not-for-profit company.

People are increasingly wondering why the government of Bangladesh is ramping up its persecution of Professor Muhammad Yunus, one of its most prominent and accomplished citizens.  One plausible answer is that the government is trying to distract voters and the international community from looking too closely at the state of the nation.

Take two aspects: the economy and human rights.  Don’t take our word for the fact that the country is in a sorry state. 

The Atlantic Council has just published an article titled “Bangladesh’s Economic Crisis: How Did We Get Here?”  It concludes with the following words: “Two consecutive fraudulent national elections, held in 2014 and 2018, have created a de facto one party system with no checks and balances. As international lenders such as the IMF negotiate more loans for the current government, donors should understand that throwing more money at Dhaka will not bring an end to the crisis. 

“A bailout will only act as a bandaid. It may stop the bleeding for the moment, but there is no guarantee that it will magically solve the crisis without reforming an economic system tied deeply to the regime’s self-interested political vision.”

Turning to the matter of human rights, a good resource is “Bangladesh: Events of 2021” by Human Rights Watch that is available in English and Bengali.  It begins, “The ruling Awami League government made clear in 2021 it has no intention of addressing a pattern of grave abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances by its security forces. Authorities cracked down on critics, journalists, and even children who criticized the government or dared to question its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Instead of looking for scapegoats and trying to distract, the government should focus on getting its own house in order.

The international media and public figures are starting to raise alarms about the treatment Professor Yunus is being subjected to by his own government in recent weeks.

Last week, the Deseret News published a powerful opinion article by one of its editorial writers titled “Life-Threatending Corruption Threatens Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus.”

Award-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof and former U.S. presidential candidate Marianne Williamson endorsed this article on Twitter to their combined 4.6 million followers with supportive comments of their own.

The article has also been republished by several media platforms around the world including Other News and WorldAkklam.

Expect more in the days ahead.

In 2017, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley sent a letter to the then U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in which he asked for an investigation of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s action in defense of Professor Yunus.  Senator Grassley released the letter publicly, leading to much commentary in Bangladesh and abroad.

In particular, the letter mentioned media reports claiming the Secretary Clinton’s staff harassed the Prime Minister’s son, who lives in the United States, in order to influence the Prime Minister to change her policy towards Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus.

The Protect Yunus campaign sent an open letter to Senator Grassley questioning the factual basis of the media reports that were cited in his letter to Secretary Tillerson.  For many months, it was not clear what had happened to the investigation called for by Sen. Grassley.

Recently, however, an article in the Dhaka Tribune quotes a State Department spokesperson as saying, “The department completed its review of records and informed the Congressional Oversight Committee that we have no record of any communication or action to support the allegations that the department had pressurized the government of Bangladesh to drop its investigation into Muhammad Yunus.”

The State Department has confirmed to the Protect Yunus campaign that this quote is accurate.

Professor Yunus remains under threat from his own government, though with the exception of some recent public comments by the Prime Minister’s son, there have been few major hostile actions taken by the government recently.  This is a welcome trend.

The relative calm has allowed Professor Yunus to focus on promoting his new book, A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment and Zero Net Carbon Emissions (Public Affairs, 2017), and the exciting ideas it contains.

The book has received a warm reception from the public across the world.  Among the many positive reviews is this one by Kirkus, which concludes with these words of praise: “While antithetical to the prevailing capitalism, the author’s reforms, he insists, will yield an economic system that more closely corresponds to who humans really are: partners and not predators.  The author’s humane proposal for economic reform, far from impractical, makes for provocative reading for development specialists.”

Here is a fireside chat broadcast on CSPAN2 where Professor Yunus discussed his book with Columbia University Professor Jeff Sachs.

Perhaps one day the number of annual attacks on Professor Yunus by his own government will also be reduced to zero.

Even as Professor Yunus requires protection himself, he has continued his bold advocacy related to protecting the human rights of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. Below is his open letter to the UN Security Council.  

Dear President and Members of the Security Council,

As you are aware, the human tragedy and crimes against humanity has taken a dangerous turn in the Arakan region of Myanmar. It needs your immediate intervention.

According to different organizations, recent military offensive by the Myanmar Army in Rakhine State has led to the killing of hundreds of Rohingya people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Complete villages have been burned, women raped, many civilians arbitrarily arrested, and children killed. Crucially, humanitarian aid organisations have been almost completely denied access, creating an appalling humanitarian crisis in an area already extremely poor. According to local administration sources, around 120,000 people have fled to my country during the last twelve days. Human misery created by such massive displacement of men, women and children under the threat of death is getting worse every day.

I, along with several Nobel Laureates and eminent global citizens denounced the previous spate of violence late last year and wrote to you to intervene. Despite initiatives taken by you, the situation has not improved. This time, I urge you to take decisive actions to stop the violence against innocent civilians and bring permanent peace in Rakhine.

I call on UNSC to intervene immediately by using all available means. I request you to take immediate action for cessation of indiscriminate military attack on innocent civilians that is forcing them to leave their home and flee country to turn into stateless people.

I urge you to persuade Myanmar government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission which the Myanmar government established in 2016 under the pressure of international community. The Commission, mostly comprised of Myanmar citizens, chaired by Kofi Annan, recommended providing citizenship to the Rohingyas, to allow them freedom of movement, rights and equality before the law, to ensure communal representation, lack of which affects Muslims disproportionately, to facilitate UN assistance in ensuring safety and security of returning people. Decades of persecution appears to be breeding radicalization which the Rakhine Advisory Commission, rightly apprehended. The fear became reality through the attack on Myanmar security forces by the militants. Unless, constructive effort to build lasting peace is taken, the situation will get worse which in turn may pose serious security threat to the neighbouring countries.

A bold change in approach is needed by United Nations and the international community if there is to be an end to the cycle of violence against the Rohingyas. The government of Myanmar needs to be told that international support and finance is conditional on a major change in policy towards the Rohingya. Propaganda and incitement of hatred and all violence, particularly state violence against Rohingyas must stop, discriminatory laws and policies must go, the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s commission must be implemented immediately.

The world is waiting to see that UNSC has played its role to bring end to a humanitarian crisis and build peace in the region.

Sincerely yours

Muhammad Yunus

 

 

Clearly, the Bangladesh government’s campaign against Professor Yunus is not happening in a vacuum.  Most recently, Human Rights Watch has released an 82-page report on “enforced disappearances” in Bangladesh.

This report and the government’s response were covered by the Daily Star, Bangladesh’s leading English-language daily, in this article. It is good to see the Bangladeshi press picking up stories like these.

The article notes, “Instead of committing to investigate these incidents, [Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman] Khan declared his government will ‘reject the report outright,’ the New York-based human rights body said in a release yesterday.”

Today RESULTS sent a public letter to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley regarding Professor Yunus and the ongoing situation in Bangladesh. The letter responds to one from Senator Grassley to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on June 1. The full text of the letter from RESULTS follows:

***

Dear Senator Grassley,

I am writing in reference to your letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson dated June 1, 2017, regarding then-Secretary Hillary Clinton’s engagement with the ongoing situation in Bangladesh and efforts to protect Professor Muhammad Yunus. I would like to clarify some points within the letter and provide additional information that might answer some of your questions. Thank you for your consideration of these points.

As you may know, the current Prime Minister has a longstanding hostility toward Professor Yunus dating back to 2010. The events affecting Professor Yunus are also part of broader, politically-motivated efforts by the Prime Minister against civil society space and freedom of expression.[i]

With regards to Professor Yunus, there have also been a significant number of misleading, exaggerated, or inaccurate media reports, in particular from sources allied with the current ruling government in Bangladesh.

Media reports cited in the letter suggest that Professor Yunus and organizations he was involved in received preferential treatment because of donations to the Clinton Foundation or its affiliated Clinton Global Initiative.  The funds described as “donations” to the Clinton Foundation were actually registration fees that Vidar Jorgenson, a volunteer member of the board of two organizations Professor Yunus established, paid to attend the Clinton Global Initiative on a number of occasions. As per IRS guidelines, a portion of this registration fee is tax deductible, and thus considered a “donation.” Mr. Jorgenson has thoroughly addressed these registration fees in a public statement.[ii] As an invited speaker at CGI, Professor Yunus was not required to pay a registration fee.[iii]

The letter, drawing from media reports, also states that “Secretary Clinton’s Department of State reportedly awarded more than $13 million in taxpayer funds to businesses aligned with Yunus.” However, the U.S. government database cited in the article referenced in the letter shows that the amount of direct grants from USAID received by Grameen Foundation USA, a U.S.-based organization inspired by Professor Yunus, during Secretary Clinton’s tenure at the State Department was $1,635,679, not “more than $13 million.”[iv] Additionally, Grameen Foundation USA is a not-for-profit organization, not a business, and Professor Yunus has not served on its Board of Directors since 2009, serving as an Emeritus member since that time.[v]

In addition to these direct grants to Grameen Foundation USA during Secretary Clinton’s tenure, it received a single sub-grant from another non-profit supported by USAID in the amount of $125,512.

Grameen Foundation was chosen for this grant by an independent, non-profit organization (the prime contractor in this case) through a competitive process.[vi]

Furthermore, in October 2009 USAID joined a loan guarantee pool that Grameen Foundation USA had established with private support in 2005. These loan guarantees never resulted in any payments from the U.S. government because there were no defaults on the underlying loans that were guaranteed during the time USAID participated in this innovative program. Grameen America, a separate U.S. organization inspired by Professor Yunus that focuses on assisting low-income people in the United States, also received some grants and loans during this period, but those were from agencies that Secretary Clinton was not affiliated with.

The other grants/loans listed on the government website search were either (1) to beneficiaries of the loan guarantees provided by Grameen Foundation USA (the program described above) which entailed no outlay of U.S. taxpayer dollars, (2) to organizations not affiliated with Professor Yunus, or (3) made after Secretary Clinton left office.

It is certainly true that the Government of Bangladesh’s aggressive and unsubstantiated attacks on Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank have drawn protests from government officials and private citizens around the world, including Secretary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. Former Secretaries of State George Schultz and Madeline Albright were among those who protested, including writing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in 2012 under the title, “A Nobel Prize Winner Under Siege.”[vii]  Congress recognized Professor Yunus’ humanitarian accomplishments by awarding him the Congressional Gold Medal in 2013. At that ceremony, then-Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mike Enzi were among those who offered tributes.

I, and many others, have been deeply concerned about Professor Yunus’s situation in Bangladesh as the attacks against him by the government have ramped up over the past few months. Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank he founded focus on social entrepreneurship and women’s economic empowerment, and have helped lead to incredible progress in the fight against poverty in Bangladesh and countries around the world – efforts that are consistent with the goals and values the U.S. promotes worldwide.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this information and additional issues. I would be happy to provide further information on any of the issues, or help facilitate conversations with others involved in this situation.

Sincerely,

Joanne Carter
Executive Director
RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund

***

The original letter from Senator Grassley to Secretary Tillerson is available here.

[i] “Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Uses Piety to Mask Misrule,” The Economist, Jun. 1, 2017 (http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21722831-islamists-she-courting-will-never-be-satisfied-bangladeshs-prime-minister-uses-piety).

[ii] Yunus Centre, A Statement from Mr. Vidar Jorgensen, Co-Founder and Founding President of Grameen America, about his “Donations” to CGI, http://www.muhammadyunus.org/index.php/news-media/responses-to-media-stories/ap-corrects-itself/1598-a-statement-from-mr-vidar-jorgensen-co-founder-and-founding-president-of-grameen-america-about-his-donations-to-cgi (Jun. 16, 2017).

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] USA Spending, https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/AdvancedSearch.aspx?k=grameen (Jun. 16, 2017).

[v] Grameen Foundation, Grameen Foundation Responds to Associated Press Article, Aug. 26, 2016 (http://www.grameenfoundation.org/press-releases/grameen-foundation-responds-associated-press-article).

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] George Schultz and Madeleine Albright, “A Nobel Prize Winner Under Siege,” The Wall Street Journal, Sep. 5, 2012 (https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443759504577629620737997542).