Our institutions have been seized, we are in dire straits: Dr Yunus

Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has alleged that Grameen Bank has seized eight of their institutions and is running them in its own way.

Even after seeking redressal from the police, they are not getting any help, he said during a press conference at the Grameen Telecom building in the capital's Mirpur area.

Professor Yunus alleged that eight offices located in the Grameen Telecom Bhaban were seized by Grameen Bank on 12 February.

"Since that day, they have locked the building. How would you feel if someone came into your house and locked you out of it? Then what is the use of laws and courts in this country? They don't want to go to court. I have never seen such a disaster in my life," he said.

The Grameen Telecom building is located on the Mirpur National Zoo Road where there are 16 companies of which Dr Yunus is the chairman.

They are enjoying the ownership of the place. They are locking the place in the evening, unlocking in the mornings. Even whether we would be able to hold the press conference here was uncertain.

Dr Muhammad Yunus

"We are being attacked," he said, adding that the relevant court would be approached in this regard.

In response to a question, Yunus said the institutions were built with business profit, not through money from Grameen Bank. 

He said the companies were being run according to the law.

"Out of nowhere, some outsiders came and forcefully occupied the building, and we became the outsiders," reports the UNB quoting the Nobel laureate.

"They started running the building according to their own rules and wishes, just like that," he added. 

He said they took the matter to the police, but were given short shrift.

"At first they wouldn't even receive the complaint. Then they came by once, and apparently nothing seemed out of place to them," said Yunus.

"They [grabbers] are enjoying the ownership of the place. They are locking the place in the evening, unlocking in the mornings. Even whether we would be able to hold the press conference here was uncertain," he added.

The purpose of calling the press conference, he said, was to hold up in front of the nation the situation they are in, and to know from them what they [he and his colleagues] should do.

He said Grameen Bank does not have legal authority to take over the building, and the companies run independently.

Grameen Bank has recently named new directors for Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan, with Prof Dr AKM Saiful Majid taking over as chairman, replacing Yunus. 

Yunus has characterised these moves as public harassment and "blueprint" to destroy his social enterprises.

The eight institutions that have been reportedly padlocked are Grameen Telecom, Grameen Kalyan, Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, Grameen Agriculture Foundation, Grameen Shamogree, Grameen Fund, Grameen Shakti, and Grameen Communication.

Grameen Telecom's managing director Nazmul Islam, Grameen Kalyan's managing director AKM Moinuddin Chowdhury, and other officials from different institutions were present at the press conference.

Legal wranglings

Grameen Telecom's Nazmul Islam said the intruders, claiming association with Grameen Bank, cited a 1995 Act to justify their actions, suggesting Grameen Bank had the authority to change Grameen Kalyan's leadership.

However, Nazmul Islam clarified that this claim was erroneous, as the relevant rule was amended in 2009 and Grameen Kalyan operates independently. He, like the other two, however refused to be drawn into the legalese too much, which they advised to raise with their legal counsel.

The legal issues were further explained in a second press conference held by Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun, legal advisor to Grameen Telecom, at the same location around an hour later.

He said according to articles of association drawn up in 1995 and 1996, Grameen Bank had the authority to nominate, not appoint  – a key difference – two directors to the board of Grameen Telecom and Kalyan respectively. They could also nominate a chairman.

Using muscle power, Grameen Bank was now apparently forcefully appointing the chairman of the two entities, but this was unlawful, Barrister Mamun said. 

After staging the initial grab at around 5:30pm on Monday,  they said a "letter was coming (from Grameen Bank) appointing new chairman' for Telecom and Kalyan." They subsequently padlocked those two offices.

The latter arrived around 9pm, but as per Barrister Mamun, the circumstances in which they came up do not allow for any validity to their contents.

"Their nominations have to be accepted in a meeting by the two entities themselves. There is no scope for them to force their choice and seat them as the chair or director," he said.

"Besides, after the changes in 2009, the articles of association were changed and notified to the Joint Stock Registrar of Companies," he added.