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Grameen Bank founder and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Dr Muhammad Yunus, who had been accused of ‘siphoning’ approximately USD 100 million from Grameen Bank to its affiliated health insurer Grameen Kalyan, has reportedly been cleared of any allegations of mishandling funds by the Norwegian Ministry of Affairs. Minister of International Development Erik Solheim of Norway concluded that Grameen Bank was not engaging in any corrupt activities but was simply trying to minimize taxes on the funds. Grameen Bank’s response to the allegations states that the money had been transferred to health insurer Grameen Kalyan and then loaned back to Grameen Bank at an interest rate of 2 percent that resulted in BTD 442 million (USD 6 million) remaining with Grameen Kalyan. As of December 8, 2010, Bangladesh’s Central Bank has not received any instructions to investigate either of the Grameen agencies [1].
The accusation of an improper transfer of funds emerged after a Norwegian documentary, “Fanget I Mikrogjeld” (“Caught in Micro Debt”) aired in November 2010 claiming that Dr Yunus breached a contract with Norwegian investors that provided money intended for housing loans by transferring funds from Grameen Bank to Grameen Kalyan [2].
The Norwegian documentary “Caught in Micro Debt” is scheduled for release in English in January 2011.
About Muhammad Yunus: Dr Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker, economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. As a professor of economics, he built on the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. Dr Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi microfinance institution. In 2006, Dr Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr Yunus himself has also received several other national and international honors and is a member of several organizations’ boards.
About Grameen Bank: Grameen Bank is a Bangladeshi microfinance institution that provides collateral-free loans to poor entrepreneurs in rural areas. It was founded in the late 1970′s by Muhammad Yunus, who, along with Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their work in developing the concept of microfinance. As of February 2010, it reports 8 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,563 branches, Grameen Bank provides services to 81,343 villages. Grameen Bank has the equivalent of USD 1.4 billion in assets as of 2009 as indicated on the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the microfinance information clearinghouse.
[1] Economic Times. “Microfinance pioneer Yunus cleared in aid probe” 8 December 2010
[2] BD24 News. “Yunus ‘siphoned tk 7bn for poor’” 1 December 2010
http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=180277&hb=5
BD24 News. Letter exchanges between Norwegian Embassy and Grameen Bank.
http://av.bdnews24.com/file/all/Yunus.pdf
Flip the Coin. Information on “Caught in Micro Debt”
http://www.flipthecoin.org/?p=301
MicroCapital. “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Dr Muhammed Yunnus, Winner of Nobel Prize for Work in Microfinance, Accused of Improperly Transferring $100m from Grameen Bank to Insurer Grameen Kalyan” by Diana Baide, 3 December 2010
Grameen Bank. “Grameen Bank’s Response to Recent Press Reports” 3 December 2010
http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=813&Itemid=0
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Muhammed Yunus
http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Muhammad+Yunus
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Grameen Bank
http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Grameen+Bank
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: http://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
