The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday scrapped all proceedings in the money laundering case against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and seven others, bringing an end to a contentious legal battle that had drawn national and international attention for two years.
A four-member bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the verdict by allowing Yunus鈥檚 appeal challenging a High Court order that had earlier upheld the trial court鈥檚 decision to frame charges against him and 13 others on June 12, 2024.
The apex court also cancelled the High Court鈥檚 July 24, 2024 verdict, effectively quashing the case in its entirety.
The High Court rejected the petition filed by Yunus and his Grameen Telecom colleagues challenging the order of framing money laundering charges against them.聽聽
鈥楾he Supreme Court鈥檚 judgement means the money laundering case against Professor Yunus stands cancelled,鈥� Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Ashif Hasan confirmed 抖阴精品.
The trial court, at the behest of the ACC, initially withdrew the case on August 11, 2024鈥攋ust three days after Professor Yunus assumed office as the chief adviser of the interim government.
But the withdrawal triggered a legal dispute over the legitimacy and implications of the move.
Attorney general Md Asaduzzaman argued in court that the earlier withdrawal created a false impression that Professor Yunus had influenced the legal system to have the case dropped in his favour.
Agreeing with the attorney general on his argument, Yunus鈥檚 lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun also said that the withdrawal of the case was 鈥榓rbitrary and unjust,鈥� undermining his client鈥檚 appeal to have the case dismissed on its merits.
At the heart of the case was a Tk 437 crore settlement with 164 former workers, from which Tk 25 crore was paid to lawyers as part of the legal process.
The anti-corruption commission filed the case on May 30, 2023 and submitted charge sheet against 14 people, including Professor Yunus and his seven Grameen telecom colleagues.
Both the attorney general and ACC counsel agreed that this transaction did not constitute money laundering.
They also acknowledged that any dispute over employee benefits or dividend payments should be adjudicated by the Labour Court, not under anti-money laundering laws.
Abdullah Al Mamun represented Professor Yunus in the case, which was originally filed by the ACC under the former Awami League-led government, accusing him of misappropriation and laundering of settlement funds.
