Asia-Pacific

Yunus quits Grameen Bank after court ruling

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-13 14:41

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus says he has resigned as the managing director of the microlending Grameen Bank he founded in Bangladesh.

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His announcement comes days after the country's highest court ruled the government was right to remove him for violating the country's retirement rules.

The 71-year-old Yunus insists only Grameen's board of directors, not the government, has the power to remove him. The government critic has accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's administration is trying to take control of the bank that pioneered making small loans to the poor.

Yunus said in a statement Thursday he was voluntarily stepping down to "prevent undue disruption in the activities of Grameen Bank."

He handed control to his deputy, Nurjahan Begum.