Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a final attempt by Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus to overturn an order sacking him from the bank he founded. Yunus's lawyers lodged a recall request after his appeal was turned down last month in a power struggle with the government for control of Grameen Bank, where he developed the concept of microfinance cash loans to tackle poverty.
"The Supreme Court has dismissed Yunus's final petition," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP after a short hearing which Yunus did not attend. "After this order, Yunus should not cling to his position any more," Alam said. "His legal battle is meaningless. He has wasted the time of the court."
Judges ruled that Grameen Bank was a government institution, not a private bank as Yunus and his legal team have maintained, meaning employees must abide by the state's mandatory retirement age of 60. Yunus, 70, was removed as head of Grameen Bank by the Bangladesh central bank on March 2 but he defied the order, returning to work and lodging a legal case challenging the dismissal.