Yunus loses final appeal against sacking in Bangladesh apex court

The verdict came as reports this week said talks to resolve the issue outside the court progressed towards a “positive direction” amid growing international criticism against his unceremonious dismissal from the pioneering microfinance bank that he founded three decades ago.

The apex court earlier adjourned until April 4 the hearing on Yunus’ appeal allowing both sides to take more time to reach a compromise as insisted by the US and other major development partners.

Yunus was fired from his position as the Grameen Bank’s managing director last month as the Bangladesh Bank found that his 2000 appointment as the microlending agency’s executive chief was faulty because the central bank’s mandatory approval was not obtained at that time.

Yunus’ experiment of poor men’s banking earned Bangladesh the repute of being the home of microcredit and himself the Nobel Peace Prize along with his Grameen Bank in 2006.

Analysts had earlier said Yunus’s troubles stem from 2007 when he announced formation of a political party,an idea that was visibly unwelcome by Prime Minister Sheijh Hasina and her archrival Khaleda Zia of BNP,while he himself abandoned the idea within months.

The government has 25 per cent stake in Grameen Bank that employs 24,000 people,provides collateral-free loans to eight million borrowers,the vast majority from rural areas after detailed talks familiar with the Grameen Bank activities.