In the shadow of Bangladesh\u2019s 2024 political upheaval, where the ouster of the Awami League government gave way to an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, a sinister narrative of corruption and embezzlement has unfolded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Far from delivering the promised transparent, reform-driven governance, the Yunus-led regime\u2014bolstered by a coterie of advisers\u2014has plunged the nation into a cesspool of financial malfeasance, with every adviser, including Yunus himself, implicated in plundering public coffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the interim government points fingers at the Awami League, accusing it of fantastical sums of money laundering, recent revelations, particularly from the daily Kaler Kantho<\/a>\u2019s expos\u00e9 on the \u201cMP Project\u201d scandal, paint a damning picture of systemic graft under Yunus\u2019 watch. This story unravels the sordid tale of greed, favouritism, and betrayal of Bangladesh\u2019s people, set against a backdrop of economic collapse and institutional decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MP Project: A Case Study in Greed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the heart of the scandal lies the \u201cUniversal Social Infrastructure Development-2\u201d project, colloquially known as the MP Project, initiated under the Awami League to fund local development through parliamentary oversight. Approved in 2022 with a budget of Tk1,820 million, it aimed to empower MPs to drive social infrastructure like schools and roads in their constituencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But after the interim government assumed power in August 2024, following a chaotic, army-backed coup fueled by student protests, the project\u2019s trajectory took a grotesque turn. Despite the dissolution of parliament and the absence of MPs, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) proposed a staggering 39% cost increase\u2014Tk418 million more, ballooning the total to Tk1,500 million\u2014extending the timeline from 2026 to June 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yunus faces backlash over partisan TV licensing amid press freedom crackdown<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n How Yunus and \u2018Grameen\u2019 are benefitting from his position as the \u2018Chief Adviser\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 36 July flat project: Report reveals massive fraud in estimation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The daily Kaler Kantho\u2019s investigation, published in October 2025, exposed this as a flagrant act of embezzlement. The project, 64% complete with Tk700 crore already spent, was meant to wrap up quickly, with only ongoing works to be finalised and untendered packages cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, LGED\u2019s proposal defied logic: why inflate costs for a project on the brink of closure, in a country with no MPs? The answer lies in a web of greed spun by Yunus\u2019 advisers, who saw the project as a cash cow. Chittagong district received a disproportionate Tk515 million allocation, while Meherpur got a paltry Tk50 million, raising red flags at the Planning Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former project director Nazmul Karim\u2019s weak justification\u2014\u201clocal needs\u201d\u2014crumbled under scrutiny, as no coherent policy or need assessment supported the hike. The Planning Commission\u2019s senior official said: \u201cIt was decided to complete the project at Tk700 crore. The sudden change smells of corruption.\u201d This brazen cost escalation, unsupported by progress or necessity, reeks of funds siphoned off to loyalists under the guise of \u201cdevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Regime Built on Hypocrisy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The MP Project is but one thread in a tapestry of corruption woven by Yunus and his inner circle. While the interim government loudly accuses the Awami League of laundering \u201cunrealistic\u201d sums\u2014claims often inflated to demonise Hasina\u2019s legacy\u2014it orchestrates its own plunder with impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the health sector, where Adviser Nurjahan Begum, a Yunus loyalist with no credible expertise, presides over a crumbling system. The cancellation of 38 five-year operational plans (OPs) since 1998 has paralysed healthcare, leaving 25,000 workers unpaid, community clinics shuttered, and essential medicines scarce. Nurjahan\u2019s personal officers, Dr. Mahmudul Hassan and Tuhin Farabi, stand accused of embezzling crores through bribes for doctor transfers\u2014Tk1.5-2.5 million per medical college principal post, Tk200,000 for nurses. Hassan, now in Russia with smuggled funds, and Farabi exemplify the rot, yet Nurjahan remains defiant, touting vague \u201creforms\u201d while hospitals falter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corruption, suspension of operation plans cripple Bangladesh health sector<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n