Bangladesh govt.announces probe into Grameen Bank over diversion of aid money

Dhaka, Jan 13(ANI): The Bangladesh government has ordered an investigation into claims that Bangladeshi micro-credit pioneer Grameen Bank's Muhammad Yunus had wrongly diverted 100 million dollars of Norwegian aid money.

Professor A.K.M. Monowaruddin Ahmed, head of the government's review body, said that they would "impartially investigate" the claims.

"We have been asked to review the operations of Grameen Bank and also how its lending rate compares to other micro-lenders," the BBC quoted Professor Ahmed, as saying.

A spokesman for Grameen Bank said that it and Professor Yunus welcomed the investigation, although it had not received any communication from the government about its formation or its terms of reference.

Earlier, a Danish documentary maker Tom Heinemann had alleged that Yunus and his associates had diverted nearly 100 million dollars of grant money to another company, Grameen Kalyan, which was not involved in micro-credit operations.

His documentary also claimed that after the Norwegian authorities raised objections to the alleged funds transfer, only about 30 million dollars was diverted back to Grameen Bank.

However, a statement by Grameen Bank had denied the allegations saying that they were "completely false". (ANI)