At first, the workers of Grameen Bank started taking legal action in 2017 by filing a total of 51 cases out of a total of 264 cases within 2023. The 264 plaintiffs filed lawsuits with the Labour Court under Section 213 for applying Sections 4, 132, and 234 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
- Workers have filed three significant types of cases against Dr. Yunus and other Grameen Telecom, Grameen Communication, and Grameen Kalyan authorities.
- Among them, 180 workers filed 180 cases against Grameen Telecom, Grameen Communication, and Grameen Kalyan with the complaints of non-deposit of a particular dividend portion to the participation fund, welfare fund, and employee welfare foundation and non-permanent employment of workers (Section 234, 4 and 132 of Labor Law 2006).
- Other 82 workers filed cases complaining only about the non-deposit of a particular dividend portion to the participation fund, welfare fund, and employee welfare foundation (Section 234).
- Two plaintiffs submitted two case applications to the Labour Court under Section 213 to enforce Section 132 (Claim arising from deduction from wages or delayed payment of wages) of the Labour Act, 2006.
- Out of 264 cases, the organization’s employees and workers filed two lawsuits against the Grameen Agriculture Foundation and is in the Hon’ble Labour Court, Rangpur.
- The remaining 262 cases filed by the workers and employees against Grameen Telecom, Grameen Communication, and Grameen Kalyan are pending in the Hon’ble Third Labour Court, Dhaka.
- Out of all 264 cases, 25 have been settled under negotiations between Grameen Telecom, Grameen Communication, and Grameen Kalyan authorities and employees on February 25, 2024.
- 239 cases filed by employees are still in trial stages in the courts
The DIFE filed seven cases between 2019 and 2020. Therefore, it’s clear that workers filed cases at least two years before the DIFE resorted to legal action.
- Dr. Yunus is involved directly in two instances with other officials, and the rest of the other five issue charges against other top officials. In a criminal case, BLA-01/2020, Dr. Yunus and the other three accomplices of Grameen Telecom confessed their crime, and the court fined BDT 7500 each.
- In another criminal case, BLA 228/2021, filed by labor inspector SM Arifuzzaman, the third labor court of Dhaka, sentenced four people, including Yunus, to six months imprisonment on January 1, 2024. At the same time, the court also fined BDT 30,000 each.
- After announcing the verdict, Dr. Yunus, on the condition of an appeal to the higher court, granted one-month interim bail to all four, including Professor Yunus.
Accusing fake settlements, bribery, embezzlement, fraudulent activity, and money laundering, the ACC filed its only case in 2023.
- On May 30, last year, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar filed the case as the main plaintiff in the Dhaka Integrated District Office.
- The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved the charge sheet against 14 persons, including the Chairman of Grameen Telecom, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, for embezzlement of about BDT 25 crore 22 lakhs from the Grameen Telecom worker’s welfare fund.
- the ACC has approved the charge sheet under sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2012 and sections 409, 420, 467, 468, and 471,109 of the Penal Code.
