No malpractice detected, says Muhith
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
FE Report
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Monday said no financial irregularities took place in transferring fund from the NORAD, the official agency of Norway for international development cooperation, to Grameen Kalyan. "The issue of fund transfer was settled between the NORAD and the Grameen Bank much earlier as no irregularities had been in place in transferring the fund," Muhith told reporters after the review committee formed by the government to probe into the alleged irregularities of Grameen Bank (GB) and its founder Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus submitted its report to the minister. "The committee in its report also did not mention about any kind of irregularities to have taken place in the process," he added. Muhith said the interest rates of Grameen Bank are much lower than those of other microcredit lenders in the country. The head of the review committee Prof AK Monwar Uddin Ahmed handed over the report to Muhith at his secretariat office. Monwar refused to share the contents of the reports with the journalists. "We have submitted the report as was asked by the government. The report is now a government property and it will say what is there in the report," Monwar told the waiting reporters. The government on January 12 this year formed a five-member review committee. The Banking and Financial Institution Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) formed the committee. Other members of the committee are Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank Nazrul Huda, former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Syeda Rokeya Din, Director, Janata Bank Ltd RN Debnath and Advocate Mohsin Rashid. The committee was asked to prepare a report on alleged irregularities of GB in transferring fund to Grameen Kalyan as aired in National Norwegian Television on November 30, 2010 and investigate the involvement of GB's Managing Director Dr Muhammad Yunus, if any, with the fund transfer. Besides, the review committee was asked to look into methods relating to the GB's interest charging and loan repayment. The committee was also asked to investigate the irregularities, if any, on the interest payment method. The committee was asked to recommend how to control and regulate GB and ensure its accountability. The documentary alleged that GB had transferred about $100 million it received from donors to Grameen Kalyan in 1996 and then got back the money as loan in breach of the agreement. However, the Norwegian government and NORAD stated later that there was no diversion of fund, as reported in the documentary. And the matter was resolved as far back as 1996.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Monday said no financial irregularities took place in transferring fund from the NORAD, the official agency of Norway for international development cooperation, to Grameen Kalyan. "The issue of fund transfer was settled between the NORAD and the Grameen Bank much earlier as no irregularities had been in place in transferring the fund," Muhith told reporters after the review committee formed by the government to probe into the alleged irregularities of Grameen Bank (GB) and its founder Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus submitted its report to the minister. "The committee in its report also did not mention about any kind of irregularities to have taken place in the process," he added. Muhith said the interest rates of Grameen Bank are much lower than those of other microcredit lenders in the country. The head of the review committee Prof AK Monwar Uddin Ahmed handed over the report to Muhith at his secretariat office. Monwar refused to share the contents of the reports with the journalists. "We have submitted the report as was asked by the government. The report is now a government property and it will say what is there in the report," Monwar told the waiting reporters. The government on January 12 this year formed a five-member review committee. The Banking and Financial Institution Division under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) formed the committee. Other members of the committee are Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank Nazrul Huda, former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Syeda Rokeya Din, Director, Janata Bank Ltd RN Debnath and Advocate Mohsin Rashid. The committee was asked to prepare a report on alleged irregularities of GB in transferring fund to Grameen Kalyan as aired in National Norwegian Television on November 30, 2010 and investigate the involvement of GB's Managing Director Dr Muhammad Yunus, if any, with the fund transfer. Besides, the review committee was asked to look into methods relating to the GB's interest charging and loan repayment. The committee was also asked to investigate the irregularities, if any, on the interest payment method. The committee was asked to recommend how to control and regulate GB and ensure its accountability. The documentary alleged that GB had transferred about $100 million it received from donors to Grameen Kalyan in 1996 and then got back the money as loan in breach of the agreement. However, the Norwegian government and NORAD stated later that there was no diversion of fund, as reported in the documentary. And the matter was resolved as far back as 1996.