DHAKA: Bangladesh's highest court rejected Tuesday an appeal by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus against his dismissal as managing director of Grameen Bank, the microlender he founded. Associates of Yunus say his removal from his post was government retaliation after he briefly considered a political career to challenge Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Yunus, 70, lodged the appeal last month after a high court upheld a central bank order dismissing him from the post of managing director, saying he had overstayed in violation of bank law. The official retirement age for managing directors of commercial banks in Bangladesh is 60. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters the Supreme Court had upheld the high court verdict and Yunus no longer had the right to hold the office of managing director of Grameen Bank. “He has lost the battle,” he said. Yunus was not in the court and he was not available for comment. The ruling would appear to end his hopes of retaining his post through a legal ruling.
