It's a decision indicative of continuing tensions between the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and the Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Yunus, pioneer of micro-finance. The Bangladesh government has ordered an investigation Wednesday, January 12 on the Grameen Bank, micro-credit bank founded by Yunus.A Norwegian documentary had in the past accused the bank of bad financial practices. The prime minister has since accused Mr. Yunus to use a "trick" to avoid paying taxes, claiming also that the loans "were sucking the blood of the poor." Sheikh Hasina, accusing Mohammad Yunus of Grameen Bank to his personal fiefdom, was first opposed to the "Banker to the Poor" in 2007 when it created its own political party, which has since fizzled .
A commission composed of five members should review documentary's claims that 96 million of the Grameen Bank have been illegally diverted to other parts of the Grameen group, said a senior government official. The commission, which also consider the rates at which banks lend to the poor to compare with those of other micro-credit, three months to complete his mission, he added.
The vice-president of the Grameen Bank, Nurjhan Begum, said Wednesday that Mohammad Yunus greeted the opening of the investigation, considering it a chance to wash all suspicion his name and his bank. The head of the inquiry commission said it "was not directed against anyone" in particular.
"We review the overall operations of the Grameen Bank's loans and its interactions with its affiliates," he said.
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- Nobel winner behind micro loans investigated for tax evasion (07/01/2011)
- GRAMEEN'S MCRA REGISTRATION FAILURE: JS body asks finance ministry. [Zahir shamsery] (24/12/2010)
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