Eight of our institutions usurped: Prof Yunus

Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday said he and his colleagues were going through a disastrous situation due to an 'unlawful' takeover of offices at the Grameen Telecom Bhaban by a group of outsiders.

"We go through many disastrous situations, but have never seen a disaster in which some people come from outside all of a sudden and say, 'move over'," Prof Yunus told a press conference at the Grameen Telecom Bhaban in the capital.

On the evening of February 12, a group of people, claiming to be affiliated with Grameen Bank, barged into the Grameen Telecom Bhaban, and said the current board of Grameen Bank, appointed seven directors, including chairman, for Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom, two social business ventures established by the Nobel Laureate, according to the officials of the organisations.

The group was seen the following days, and the office of Grameen Telecom was found locked yesterday.

The press briefing was delayed by half an hour because a group of men and women kept the entrance to the building blocked until 11:15am. After the individuals, mostly women holding new brooms, arrived there around 9:00am, the area became tense.

Grameen Telecom Bhaban houses 16 non-profit organisations, including the widely recognised social business ventures and Grameen Telecom, which holds a 34.2 percent stake in Bangladesh's biggest telecom operator Grameenphone.

Prof Yunus, who faces multiple cases filed by various agencies including the Anti-corruption Commission, said the people who came to the building claimed that they were there on behalf of Grameen Bank.

"My colleagues say these people are outsiders. A retired army person, who works for consultancy firms, is among them," he added.

Yunus, the champion of micro credit and social business models, which are aimed at alleviating poverty and addressing social issues, said he sought help from the police, but "did not get support" while the outsiders occupied the offices of several social business organisations.

Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan yesterday released a statement, saying around 35 people forcibly entered the Grameen Telecom Bhaban without showing their identity cards on February 12.

One of them introduced himself as a former army colonel and said he and the others were from Grameen Bank and they would go to the offices of Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom.

Then they checked the ID cards of the officials and employees, and stopped them from leaving after office hours. Many of the people threatened them in different ways, according to the statement.

Later, they held separate meetings with the managing directors of Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan and said there was a change in the management of the companies.

They told everyone that one of their representatives was on the way with the office orders, said the statement.

At approximately 9:10pm, a representative of Grameen Bank came to the building with seven office orders signed by Prof AKM Saiful Majid, chairman of Grameen Bank.

He appointed himself as chairman of Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan. He also appointed two directors to Grameen Kalyan and three directors to Grameen Telecom, citing clauses of an article of association of the companies, according to the statement.

The statement from Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan said in order to ensure the future welfare of the sons and daughters of all the members of the Grameen Bank, Yunus, in the Articles of Association of Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan and some other Grameen institutions, kept a provision so that they can represent in these organisations on behalf of Grameen Bank.

In 1995, Grameen Bank nominated Prof Yunus as Grameen Telecom Chairman and in 1996 as Chairman of Grameen Kalyan without pay.

Grameen Bank never again for 27 years nominated any chairman apart from appointing two or three directors, according to the statement.

As the Grameen Bank has not nominated any chairman after the first nomination, Prof Yunus has been elected as a non-salaried and unpaid chairman by the boards of the Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan.

In 2009, a meeting of board of directors of Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom unanimously issued a resolution and amended the provisions in the Articles of Associations barring Grameen Bank to nominate directors, said the statement.

The organisations also informed the matter to the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms in writing, it added.

The sudden appointment of chairman and two-three persons as directors of Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom from outside by the Grameen Bank is nothing but harassment of Prof Yunus, it said.

"This is also a blueprint for destroying the social business organisations," it added.

"Dr Yunus considers the silence of the government after such a rampage by the intruders as a threat to his life and insecurity," the statement reads.

At yesterday's press conference, AKM Moinuddin Chowdhury, managing director of Grameen Kalyan, said eight offices were under "unlawful occupation".

According to Moinuddin, the eight institutions are Grameen Kalyan, Grameen telecom, Grameen Fund, Grameen Shamogree, Grameen Motsho O Pashusampad Foundation, Grameen Shakti, Grameen Udyog and Grameen Krishi Foundation.

"They've kept the offices locked," said Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

"You tell me how you would feel if someone else locks you out of your home.

"We reported it to the police. At first, the police did not take the report into account. Later, they just visited once and did not see any problem … ."

"Where will we go? No one is beside us. We urge the people of the country to help us.

Replying to a question regarding the process through which managing directors and chairmen of the organisations are appointed, he said each institution has its own rules and regulations.

"Grameen Bank has no right to interfere here.

"Unlawful occupation can not take place in a civilised society … ."

"It is a great tragedy for these institutions. If they get trapped in cases, they can lose everything, and they will not be able to work," said Yunus, who founded the organisations with the concept of social business.

Asked about the argument by many that the institutions were established with the money from Grameen Bank, Yunus said: "Law is clear. We followed the law properly.

"The money used to set up the social business ventures came from the pocket of no individuals, not mine.

"We earned it through business. We did not take a single taka from Grameen Bank."

Asked whether the government was behind the development, he said, "I am leaving the matter for your consideration. We described what we had seen. The people of the country will make the decision."

The Daily Star could not reach Grameen Bank Chairman Prof AKM Saiful Majid for comments over the phone. One of the correspondents of this newspaper also visited the Grameen Bank office for comments, but he was told that there was no one to make comments.

However, hours after the press conference by Yunus, Grameen Bank in a statement signed by its Head of Media Cell Mst Anju Ara Begum said it has the legal authority to appoint certain number of directors and chairman at the organisations created with the financial support from the microcredit organisation.

It cited the clauses of Articles of Association of Grameen Telecom and Grameen Kalyan and said the directors and chairmen for two organisations were appointed in line with the rules.

Grameen Bank said the claims by Prof Yunus regarding abolition of the provisions that empowered the bank to appoint directors and chairmen in 2009 is "totally false, fabricated, misleading and intentional".

Grameen Kalyan was established based on then managing director Prof Yunus' proposal placed at the 42nd meeting of the Grameen Bank in 1996, the statement said.

The appointment was made by following the rules and its nominated representatives went to six organisations at the Grameen Telecom Bhaban, the bank added.

Although allegation of forcible occupation has been brought at the press conference, in fact, the representatives were welcomed and offered refreshments. The nominated persons handed the letters containing the decisions of Grameen Bank taken at the board meeting, the bank said.