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- The Controversial Case Against the 'Banker to the Poor': What Led to Muhammad Yunus' Legal Troubles?
The Controversial Case Against the 'Banker to the Poor': What Led to Muhammad Yunus' Legal Troubles?
Explore the legal drama surrounding 84-year-old Muhammad Yunus, known as the banker to the poor. Accused of money laundering and forgery, the Nobel Prize winner faces potential life imprisonment in Bangladesh amid a bitter dispute with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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On February 12, 2024, dozens of men marched into an office building in Bangladesh.
Later, there were protests.
At the center of it all is a bitter legal drama engulfing this man, 84-year-old Muhammad Yunus.
Known around the world as the banker to the poor, Yunus is possibly the most famous person in Bangladesh.
He popularized microfinance, won a Nobel Prize,
and lifted millions out of poverty.
Now he could face life imprisonment.
Technically, I've been convicted.
I'm accused of money laundering, I'm accused of forgery,
stealing money, and all those kinds of things.
We never committed those crimes.
Prime Minister looks at it in a different way.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled Bangladesh for decades.
She was recently re-elected to a fourth straight term for a total of five.
in a vote contested by the US,
with much of the opposition in jail or facing lawsuits.
Her critics see Younis' case fitting into broader concerns
about a sly toward authoritarianism in Bangladesh.
His supporters say the charges against him
are politically motivated.
The case has erupted into a full-blown diplomatic crisis,
threatening the country's reputation
as a young, rising economy.
So did Muhammad Yunus actually break the law?
The narrative from his side is like he's being victimized by the government.
I would request everyone to look into the facts first and see what is actually happening.
Muhammad Yunus rose to fame giving tiny loans to the world's poorest, especially women.
In 1983, he started the Grameen Bank, using a Bengali word that means,
translates to village. The aim was to provide low interest rate loans to start
small businesses and offer a way out of poverty.
I think credit should be treated as a human right so that you have to build
an institution, re-rules, new procedures so that that human right can be
established. Grameen grew in popularity, expanded to other developing countries
and lifted millions out of poverty. By the 1990s its success caught the eyes of
the world.
I call upon the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for 2006.
I was honored to introduce the Senate bill awarding Professor Yunus the gold medal.
Today, Grameen's footprint is global and its affiliated companies have diversified into
telecommunications and food products.
Grameen's success and Yunus's global impact is a testament to the fact that we are a global
