Yunus loses final appeal against dismissal

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a final appeal by “banker to the poor” Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus against his dismissal as managing director of Grameen Bank, the micro-lender he founded.

A government probe last month cleared Grameen of financial irregularities, but the finding did not change the decision to fire him.

Yunus, 70, was dismissed on the grounds that he had overstayed his position and refused requests to quit. [ID:nSGE73401G] The official retirement age for managing directors of commercial banks is 60.

Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, set up Grameen, which means village in Bengali, and had been the bank’s managing director since 2000.

Source: Reuters (link opens in a new window)