Bangladesh opens probe into micro lender allegations

The government appointed on Wednesday a committee to handle the investigation,officials said,and it will start work immediately. Newspapers said it had three months to submit a final report.

The investigation is not to malign any individual or agency but to clarify the confusion and dig out the truth,a senior finance ministry official said. The committee is headed by Dhaka University economics professor,A.K.M Monowaruddin Ahmed

The documentary has generated criticism in Bangladesh and abroad of Yunus,whose bank has provided some $10 billion in small loans to individuals,mainly women,to fund businesses and help them escape poverty.

Last week,Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused Yunus of resorting to a trick to avoid paying taxes. Yunus has said he would welcome an investigation into the allegations to bring the truth to the citizens of Bangladesh as soon as possible.

The government so far has no intention of suspending the bank’s operations or taking control of it,Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Mhith said last week.

The allegations come at a time when microlending faces political hostility in several developing countries including India where politicians have accused the bankers of profiteering from the poor.

Yunus,dubbed banker to the poor,was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace for providing the programme of small loans which has led to the creation of similar programmes in other developing countries.

He is lionised by many who secured loans,some intended to provide a measure of equality for destitute women in a male-dominated Muslim society.