Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus appeared before Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday to respond to corruption allegations that his lawyers and supporters said were the result of “persistent harassment” by the government.
One of the defense lawyers, Abdullah al Mamun, told reporters that Mr. Yunus had to interrupt his trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York to attend the Anti-Corruption Commission hearing in Dhaka.
“I have not committed any crime,” Mr. Yunus told reporters as he left the commission. “I’m not afraid.”
Mr. Yunus, 83 years old, owes his worldwide fame to the Nobel Peace Prize, which recognized his contribution to his country’s economic development in 2006.
The economist is known for helping to combat extreme poverty in Bangladesh by providing microloans to tens of millions of rural women through his co-Nobel laureate Grameen Bank.
Mr. Yunus and seven officials from Grameen Telecom, another social enterprise he founded, appeared before the commission, which in May accused them of money laundering and embezzlement worth 250 million taka ($2.3 million).
According to Khaja Tanvir Ahmed, another of his lawyers, Mr. Yunus was questioned for more than an hour. If convicted, he could face up to twelve years in prison.
“These cases are part of the ongoing harassment faced by Professor Muhammad Yunus,” said Mr Ahmed.
Since a brief foray into politics, Mr Yunus has been in the sights of Bangladesh’s powerful Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who accused him of “sucking the blood of the poor”.
He is the subject of around 175 criminal and labor cases related to social enterprises he founded in Bangladesh to provide loans to the poor and create jobs.
His lawyers insist he is innocent of all charges against him.
In August, 160 international figures, including former American President Barack Obama and former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, published a joint open letter denouncing the “ongoing legal harassment” of the microcredit pioneer.
The signatories, including more than a hundred Nobel laureates, said they feared for his “safety and freedom.”
Ms. Hasina also criticized him for the World Bank canceling a $1.2 billion loan to build a bridge near Dhaka. The Nobel Prize winner has always denied any involvement.
After several years delay, the bridge was finally inaugurated in 2022. The Prime Minister did not miss the opportunity to blame Mr. Yunus, who, in her opinion, deserved to be “dipped in the river.”
Human rights activists accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by the Hasina government.