Yunus Centre on Thursday claimed that the allegations of corruption, submitted by Grameen Bank to the Anti-Corruption Commission, against Nobel laureate professor Muhammad Yunus were 鈥榖aseless鈥�.
The claim was made in a rejoinder issued by the Centre, four days after the GB authorities鈥� submission of graft allegations against professor Yunus to the ACC on May 26.
The Grameen Bank alleged that the bank gave a loan of Tk 9.5 crore to Packages Corporation Limited, a business entity of Yunus and his family in Chattogram, without adhering to the rules and regulations when Yunus was the managing director of the bank.
Yunus Centre said in the rejoinder that the owners of Packages Corporation had no intention to get financial benefit from the agreement with Grameen Bank.
They simply offered to give their renowned printing press for the use of Grameen Bank without any financial benefit, according to the rejoinder to Grameen Bank鈥檚 allegations against Professor Yunus.
The objective of Grameen Bank was to reduce the cost of printing materials and ensure quality printing and timely delivery of all printing materials, it said.
鈥楢fter the agreement was signed and the plant and properties of Packages were handed over to Grameen Bank a new phase of Packages Corporation began when it was no longer under any control of the owners, nothing flowed to the owners. 聽It entered a new phase, where the owners totally distanced themselves from all affairs of the Packages, including financial affairs,鈥� said Yunus Centre.
The total loan received by Packages Corporation over a period of 25 years was less than Tk 10 crore, it said and added that these were internal financial transactions within the Grameen Bank network of projects and companies.
鈥楢ny loan given to Packages Corporation does not go to the owners under the agreement. Loans to Packages came from the Social Business Fund, called SVCF (Social Business Venture Capital Fund), not from Grameen Bank,鈥� reads the rejoinder.
The rejoinder also said that the owners of Packages Corporation, that is, Professor Yunus and his family, were not benefitted financially from Grameen Bank under their agreement.
About the allegation of violating the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 and providing loans to his family farm, Packages Corporation, Yunus Centre claimed that Professor Yunus did not break any law.
It also said that the Packages Corporation received working capital loans from Grameen Bank through its donor-funded window called SVCF.
The money from the loan cannot reach the owners of Packages Corporation under the agreement.
As per the agreement, if Packages Corporation makes any profit, the owners of Packages Corporation would never receive any share of that profit, said the rejoinder.